Major road improvements are in store for the Myrtle Beach area in 2014, which makes both locals and visitors very happy. With so many great things to do in the area, improved roads and convenient transportation options are of great value.
The $121.7 million project, known locally as the back gate construction because of its proximity to the old back gate of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, will include an overpass that eliminates the stoplight at the Farrow Parkway/S.C. 707 intersection, and keeps U.S. 17 Bypass traffic moving. This is the entrance from Highway 17 Bypass to the very popular Market Common area. It is estimated that about 70,000 cars and trucks pass through that intersection during peak season.
The $105 million widening of S.C. 707 from a two-lane shoulder section to a five-lane curb and gutter road will stretch a little more than 9 miles, from just south of Enterprise Road to the Horry/Georgetown county line. The project, which is set to be complete by the spring of 2017, should alleviate the traffic jams that occur from the 28,000 to 30,000 daily vehicles along that stretch.
County planners bumped up the anticipated expansion of Carolina Forest Boulevard because residents in the growing area have been concerned about the traffic. So, the county will install turn lanes at Southgate, Avalon and at the Carolina Forest Library to ease traffic on Carolina Forest Boulevard until it can be resurfaced, which is planned for the summer
The $80 million project at Glenns Bay Road is slated to be bid on in the spring, and contractors will be clearing and the project beginning in the summer. It includes an interchange at U.S. 17 Bypass and Glenn’s Bay Road, and the widening of Glenn’s Bay Road from U.S. 17 Bypass to U.S. 17 Business. Construction is scheduled to be complete by the summer of 2017.
The International Drive project is a $15.5 million project that is designed to pave and widen about 5 1/2 miles of roadway between S.C. 90 and River Oaks Drive.