Senate majority leader says I-73 funding should wait

The majority leader of the S.C. state Senate said he does not oppose plans to build Interstate 73 to connect Myrtle Beach with I-95, but the recently revived project should fall in line behind needed repairs on existing interstate highways.

Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, told The Greenville News that he would object to funding the project, even if most of the money comes from federal and local sources, if it were to come before lawmakers pay for improvements to other interstates in South Carolina.

State highway commissioners last week again endorsed a $1.3 billion plan to build I-73 to connect I-95 with the Grand Strand, the heart of the state’s $18 billion-a-year tourist industry.

“I’m not opposed to I-73,” Peeler said. “What I am opposed to is spending one penny toward I-73 before they fix our problems with our existing roads and more specifically our existing interstates.”

Peeler said there are several higher priorities, including I-85 in the Upstate, the junction of I-20 and I-26 just outside Columbia, and the I-26 approach to Charleston.

The transportation commission approved plans last week to buy an island in Horry County to use to offset damage to wetlands by building I-73.

“We’re pretty darned excited about it,” said Mike Wooten, who operates a Myrtle Beach engineering firm and is vice chairman of the Transportation Department board. “Because we know the agencies are excited about it and from what I gather, even some of the environmental groups are excited about it. We could conceivably have a permit for that road by mid-year next year.”

The commission’s action is the latest chapter in a years-long and controversial project to build a more direct link for tourists from around the nation to get to the Grand Strand. The highway is designed to run from Michigan to Myrtle Beach.