Frankenstein’s Highway: Hundreds have made money off of I-73. See the data for yourself
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Frankenstein’s Highway
Interstate 73, the fabled Michigan-to-Myrtle Beach superhighway, has been in the works for more than 40 years. In this latest investigative series by The Sun News, J. Dale Shoemaker takes a deep-dive into the origins of the project, why it’s taken so long to complete and what the road could mean for South Carolina.
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Frankenstein’s Highway: Hundreds have made money off of I-73. See the data for yourself
Correction, April 26, 2022: The original version of this story included a dataset provided by the South Carolina Department of Transportation that showed land purchases for the right-of-way of Interstate 73. SCDOT has since informed The Sun News that the data it provided was not fully accurate. The data included both land purchases, as well as land it wished to purchase in the future. This story and the dataset have been updated to reflect that discrepancy. The story also noted that SCDOT purchased 137 acres from Blackwater LLC, owned by the Holliday family. SCDOT has clarified that it did not purchase that land, but wants to in the future.
Interstate 73, the fabled Michigan-to-Myrtle Beach super highway, has a long and troubled history.
After more than 40 years of planning and lobbying, the only driveable portion of the road exists in North Carolina.
All of the other states — Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and South Carolina — have either never gotten around to constructing the road or said they’re not interested.
As South Carolina has made plans for I-73 in recent years, a peculiar conspiracy has emerged among the project’s detractors: The highways in-state boosters only support the project because they’ll somehow make money from it.
Some, such as Horry County GOP vice chair Jeremy Halpin, have alleged U.S. Rep. Tom Rice has personally made money by selling land to the state for the highway’s right-of-way.
Rice vehemently denied that assertion at a town hall event last summer.
In fact, right-of-way sale data — from the South Carolina Department of Transportation — doesn’t list Rice or any companies he’s associated with.
Rather, the data shows that people who already owned land between S.C. 22 and Interstate 95 sold the bulk of the land for I-73’s eventual pathway.
SCDOT spokesperson Pete Poore said the agency has spent $23.6 million so far on right-of-way purchases but couldn’t provide an average price per acre. The agency doesn’t track that data, he said in an email, in part because the price fluctuates depending on how the land was used.
SCDOT has about 20 more miles of right-of-way to purchase, he noted, mostly in Horry County.
Other I-73 detractors have speculated that Grand Strand leaders only support the project because they own land near the right-of-way or because their political associates stand to profit from the project.
The data can’t answer all of those questions, but it provides the most significant look inside I-73 land sales to date.
The Sun News, for the first time in I-73’s history, is making the highway’s right-of-way sales public.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation provided the data, and The Sun News is making it publicly available.
The dataset below includes actual land purchases by SCDOT from the listed owners, as well as land that SCDOT wishes to purchase in the future. The first item on the list, for example, reflects acreage SCDOT would like to purchase from Blackwater LLC. The agency hasn’t actually purchased that land yet, though.
You can view the information below, or click here to download it. If you find something noteworthy in the data, please reach out to reporter J. Dale Shoemaker at dshoemaker@thesunnews.com.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Frankenstein’s Highway: Hundreds have made money off of I-73. See the data for yourself."
