Surfside Beach to consider speeding up repavement schedule for South Frontage Road

Town leaders say South Frontage Road in Surfside Beach has been rough for years, and they may have a chance to fix part of it before the next tourist season if council members move fast.

The seven-tenths of a mile stretch west of South Kings Highway accesses the Wild Water & Wheels water park, strip malls and a flea market. The lanes are used by many drivers seeking to avoid the hustle and bustle of U.S. 17 Business, especially during the summer, said Mayor Doug Samples.

But “it’s the worst road in the town of Surfside Beach,” Samples said. “For years, it’s been that way and it’s needed work.”

The state road is scheduled to be paved in late 2016, but Palmetto Corp., a local paving contractor used by Horry County, says it can begin work as early as March, if the Surfside Beach council approves.

Surfside Beach Town Council is set to decide whether to approve a plan to accelerate the paving schedule for the road at its council meeting Tuesday night. If the council votes to speed up the paving schedule, the contractor has confirmed work can begin after March 15, the date the S.C. Department of Transportation gives to start state road construction projects.

“Failure to approve will result in the road being paved in late 2016 after the next tourist season,” according to a decision paper written by the town’s Public Works Director John Adair and Town Administrator Micki Fellner.

Adair appeared before the County Transportation Committee and received “approval to repave that particular piece of road” this year, Samples said. “It’s in a sorry state of repair so it’s one of those things that we’re trying to maintain what we have … (and) not let the road get any worse.”

Mayor Pro Tem David Pellegrino agreed the road has been in rough shape for a “long time.”

The repavement project is set to cost $160,000, but the mayor said the town would be reimbursed for its payment through funds held by the CTC.

“We are working with SCDOT for longer term improvements to this federal highway that runs through our front yard,” Samples said. “But in the meantime this is something that was approved by CTC and it would be nice to get it repaved before the season starts.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Surfside Beach to consider speeding up repavement schedule for South Frontage Road."