Traffic keeps building on Waccamaw Neck: It’s time to complete Route 31 to Bucksport

I read with great interest an Aug. 27 article in the Coastal Observer, “Highway setback divides council members,” and one question remains unanswered: How did all the businesses (Hammock Shops, Village Shops, Waverly Place, Landolfi’s, Frank’s Restaurant, Pawleys Island Supply, Pawleys Island Business Center, and Oak Lea) get built within the 90-foot setback area?

As pointed out in the article, “Those developments, like Pawleys Business Center, Oak Lea, and others went in but with substantial controversy.” I ask again, how did these business get built within the 90-foot setback area?

Clearly, traffic on U.S. 17 through Pawleys Island has increased substantially in recent years and is only getting worse. The controversial median project is a stop-gap measure at best but cannot sustain the ever-increasing traffic over the long term.

But had the frontage roads been built as originally planned, all these issues would be a moot point.

Now is the time to re-establish S.C. 31 to Highway 701 at Bucksport and provide the necessary congestion relief only a bypass route can provide. Once completed, then we can address the issue of changing the setback policy to 50 feet.

The writer lives in Pawleys Island.

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 5:21 AM with the headline "Traffic keeps building on Waccamaw Neck: It’s time to complete Route 31 to Bucksport."