Horry County to extend SC Highway 31 in two areas. When will construction start?
South Carolina drivers could one day take Highway 31, also called Carolina Bays Parkway, across Horry County as council members move to approve a second extension on the major roadway to alleviate heavy traffic.
The project, which has had two readings but still needs a third round of approval from Horry County Council, would extend Highway 31 from its current endpoint at Highway 707 to the Highway 17 Bypass, allowing drivers to cross Horry County without taking Highway 17.
The project is the second extension being planned for Highway 31 in Horry County. The SCDOT is also working to connect Highway 31 from Highway 9 to the North Carolina state line.
The road extension will run through the Pine Ridge residential tract, site originally intended to house 2,500 new homes. To accommodate the new road, developer Pulte Homes now plans to build 2,000 homes at the site and pay Horry County $5,800 per home for building permits to help fund the project.
For the northern Carolina Bays Parkway extension connecting the roadway to North Carolina, SCDOT is moving forward with advance right-of-way acquisition for the project.
“We have a current $22 million federal earmark dedicated to right of way acquisition on this project and we intend to use those funds to do some advance right of way acquisition while we finalize the required environmental permits,” SCDOT Director of Media Relations Jennifer Timmons said. “This also ensures we obligate those earmark funds without any expiration of the funds.”
Plans for the Highway 31 extension project originally involved a path called Alternative Four, which the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and SCDOT chose out of seven possible routes because it would have the least impacts to natural resources, human environment, physical environment and projected costs.
When will Carolina Bays Parkway construction start?
The extension connecting Highway 31 from Highway 707 to the Highway 17 Bypass still needs a third round of Horry County Council approval. Councilman Dennis DiSabato, who leads the Horry County Transportation Committee, said he didn’t know when work on the extension would begin.
The timeline for the extension connecting Highway 31 to the state line is clearer.
In April, NCDOT announced its decision not to move forward with Alternative Four after reviewing public feedback and funding challenges, although the department said it continues to work with SCDOT and FHWA to explore other options.
Despite the change, SCDOT maintains that the Carolina Bays Parkway project’s timeline is on track.
“SCDOT and (Horry) County remain strongly committed to completing the South Carolina portion of the project. At this point, we do not anticipate any significant delays resulting from NCDOT’s decision,” said Timmons. “Our current timeline still targets completion of the environmental documents in 2027, right of way acquisition beginning in 2027 and construction beginning in 2029.”