Court shutdown: Horry County stops work on International Drive

Horry County trucks hauled heavy equipment out of the International Drive construction area Wednesday morning as officials shut down the site until a court fight is settled with environmentalists who are determined to block the road project.

The S.C. Court of Appeals issued the order late Tuesday, reiterating that its decision to hear an appeal on the state court case that environmentalists lost earlier this year demands that all work be stopped until the court rules on the appeal.

The county said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon that all work on International Drive had been halted, and the solicitation of bids on future construction work was canceled.

Bids were supposed to be opened at 2 p.m., but will remain sealed until further notice.

It’s a temporary victory for the Coastal Conservation League and S.C. Wildlife Federation, which have so far lost legal challenges to the project in state and federal court, but is now counting on the appeals process to further push their case.

Environmentalists oppose the 5.6 mile road project linking Carolina Forest and S.C. 90 with a four-lane highway, citing the dangers of heavy traffic to area wildlife, specifically bears, and argue that it will lead to further development along that corridor that runs parallel to the Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve.

County officials and residents in the affected areas along S.C. 90 support the new road and say it will provide emergency access to hospitals and act as an evacuation route during hurricanes.

After initial state court legal battles were lost earlier this year, construction started in August and county officials planned to have the road finished by this time next year.

That completion date once again is in limbo until this appeal is completed.

“We’re stopping for right now, but we don’t consider this (appeal) to have a lot of merit,” said Johnny Vaught, Horry County councilman. “We consider this a bump in the road.”

Vaught said the decision to delay the opening of bids was based on language in the contract requiring the road to be built within 365 days.

The latest estimated cost of the project is less than $14 million, not including legal costs for litigation that began last year.