Biden’s infrastructure bill is here. Does that mean I-73 is getting built in Myrtle Beach?
The long-imagined Interstate 73 — which would run from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, wind its way through six states and end near Myrtle Beach — may be decades away, if the highway is ever completed.
Ohio, for example, only recently expressed willingness to join the project. Other states have built the project piecemeal.
But building the portion of the road running from Myrtle Beach to Interstate 95 near Dillon is nearly inevitable, backers of the project have said recently. That could mean residents and visitors here could be driving on the road in a matter of years, rather than decades.
“This road is going to get built, the question is when,” U.S. Rep. Tom Rice (R-Myrtle Beach), one of the interstate’s chief supporters, told The Sun News last week.
The confidence of I-73’s backers in South Carolina is partly due to lawmakers in Congress passing a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure package last week which will dedicate billions in additional federal funding to highways and other roads.
The infrastructure bill breaks down roughly into two halves, one of which is typical federal funding of roads, bridges and other projects, and the other of which is new federal funding for infrastructure from electric vehicle charging stations to broadband connectivity to water lines and roads. Included in that second half is $110 billion in new federal money for roads and highways, which will go into federal grant programs that state agencies like the South Carolina Dept. of Transportation can apply for. The RAISE grants could be one of those programs.
“The infrastructure bill includes funding to plus-up those federal grant programs so that more folks can take advantage of those opportunities,” said Jimmy Gray, the chief lobbyist for the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
At present, SCDOT is pursuing a plan that would have local governments like Horry County, Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach contribute $350 million, the state government contribute $795 million and the federal government contribute the remaining $430 million of the roughly $1.6 billion total price. As planned, the road would run from I-95 near Latta and Dillon, in between Marion and Mullins, and end near Conway where SC-22 begins, where the road would continue on into Myrtle Beach.
To access the federal grant money, though, the local governments will have to pass funding for I-73, as will the state legislature. Gov. Henry McMaster last month announced that he’d ask the legislature to commit $300 million to I-73 when it begins regular sessions again in January, though no money will actually be allocated until the state lawmakers vote. And Horry County leaders recently voted down a proposal to commit money from its hospitality fee to I-73, at least until other governments demonstrate their support.
Still, the passage of the federal infrastructure bill has lawmakers like Rice and South Carolina Rep. Thomas “Case” Brittain Jr. hopeful that full funding for I-73 is in the near future. Brittain serves as chairman of the National I-73/I-74/I-75 Corridor Association and will likely play a key role in convincing other state lawmakers to support McMaster’s plans for funding the interstate.
At a press briefing on Tuesday, Brittain said gathering state support for I-73 will be difficult, but that he’s hopeful his colleagues will ultimately vote in favor of funding the project.
“I’ll be very honest, I think we’re definitely gonna need to see some local involvement before the state is going to jump in,” he told reporters. “There’s going to have to be something there for them. It can be a tiny bit of cheese, but there’s going to have to be something there for the state to jump in.”
Karen Riordan, the president of the local Chamber of Commerce who also spoke at the briefing, said even though Horry County voted down a funding plan for I-73, she’s hopeful that county leaders will reconsider after other local support passes. She argued that county leaders wanting to wait for state or federal support before committing local funds wouldn’t set the project back.
“What we heard...was that they wanted to see if indeed the state dollars were going to come to fruition, if indeed a federal infrastructure bill would be passed. And then they also asked if the other local municipalities were also going to come forward and approve funding as well,” Riordan said.
She added: “From our perspective, if this is an issue just on timing, then we’re extremely pleased about that. We will be absolutely fine if county council, you know, votes to approve funding, but (does) it in a slightly different order than what we originally thought a couple of weeks ago.”
Riordan added that she was hopeful lawmakers would come around to supporting I-73 in part because of a poll the local chamber conducted, which found a significant majority of respondents want to see I-73 built.
Brittain said it was possible that Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach will commit funding first and that Horry County will then take up the issue again. With local support in hand, Brittain said it will be easier for him to lobby for the state funding for I-73.
Brittain said his argument to colleagues in the legislature will be two-fold: First, he said, the Grand Strand needs a more direct evacuation route in the event of a major storm or disaster, in part because Horry County is growing faster than any other county in the state. And second, he said, Horry County already generates substantial revenue for the state, and that funding I-73 could be a way to both give back, and increase the revenue the area generates for the state.
“I do think that we can go up there and say, ‘Look, even without I-73 we contribute a lot of money. Just imagine how much more money we can contribute to the pot for South Carolina (with I-73),’” Brittain said. “And if it’s good for Horry County, and it’s good for the state, it’s good for everyone. So I think that’s a really good driving point when talking with the other legislators.”
Gray estimated, based on a 2014 study, that I-73 could allow the area to contribute up to $100 million in additional tax revenue to state coffers.
If the local backers of I-73 are successful at landing local funding and state funding, Rice said, the project will have a good shot at a federal grant funded by the infrastructure bill. But if not?
“If we don’t have a significant proposal from the state and local governments we’ll have no chance at a federal grant,” he said.
But Rice also argued that even if only partial funding for I-73 is secured in the near future, for example, if only the legislature approved McMaster’s $300 million ask, construction on I-73 will still begin. SCDOT will build the road in portions as funding becomes available in a worst-case-scenario, Rice said.
“Once we start building it we’re not going to stop …even if it’s just building the $300 million (portion) right now and building the other parts later,” he said. “There’s too much time and effort and money and possibility invested.”
Such a scenario, Riodan explained, could be avoided if South Carolina is able to apply for federal infrastructure money.
“There’s 50 states that are going to be vying for that money, we can either be one of those states and get our fair share, or we cannot,” she said. “We’re in a unique moment in time with a federal infrastructure bill.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Biden’s infrastructure bill is here. Does that mean I-73 is getting built in Myrtle Beach?."
