Interstate 73 is the designation for a future Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. When completed, it will connect the Grand Strand area with the state's interstate system.
Route description
Currently, Interstate 73 appears only as future corridor signs along SC 22, US 501, and SC 38, from the Grand Strand area to the North Carolina state line. Interstate 73 in this state is planned to go northwest-southeast.
History
Authorized by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, Interstate 73 was established as a north-south high priority corridor from Charleston, South Carolina to Detroit, Michigan. In 1993, the proposed route through South Carolina followed US 1 and US 52 to Florence, with 73 miles of new road in Marion and Horry Counties, and following US 17 from North Myrtle Beach to Charleston. When I-73 crossed a border between two states, the federal law authorizing the road required that the two states agree that their sections meet. Originally, both Carolinas selected a route running south from Rockingham, North Carolina. However, North Carolina had more money to spend on roads, and on May 10, 1995, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved North Carolina's plan for I-73 to run eastward to the coast and enter South Carolina at North Myrtle Beach. Later that year, officials in both states agreed that I-73 would enter South Carolina south of Rockingham and that the other highway would be I-74. This raised the possibility of I-73 bypassing the Myrtle Beach area entirely, since I-74 would run to the Myrtle Beach area. In May 1997, signs went up declaring the "Future Corridor" in Bennettsville, Marion, Conway and Charleston. At this point, the highway was expected to run 122 miles, 67 of which were already four lanes. The route included US 1, SC 9, SC 38 and US 501, with a planned Conway bypass connecting to US 701, along which the highway would connect with US 17 on the way to Charleston. At one point South Carolina intended to have stop lights and driveways on I-73, but the National Highway System Designation Act, passed in 1995, required I-73 to be built to interstate standards. Residents of McClellanville on US 17 protested, and alternative routes would bypass Georgetown, leading to the possibility of Myrtle Beach also being bypassed. People in Georgetown, wanting the highway to serve their port, asked that I-73 end in their community, but federal law still said Charleston would be the terminus. In 1998, Rep. Mark Sanford introduced an amendment to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century that changed the southern terminus of I-73 to Georgetown. However, the section between Myrtle Beach and Georgetown would not be part of I-73; instead, it would be a "high-priority corridor" along US 701. That same year, the SCDOT Commission endorsed a plan that would link Interstate 73 from Georgetown through Conway, Marion, Bennettsville, and Wallace, to the North Carolina state line. In February, 2002, the South Carolina government changed the southern terminus from Georgetown to Briarcliffe Acres. In 2003, SCDOT went through a series of public meetings and came up with five routes:
New construction parallel to SC 9.
Convert SC 22 and create new construction parallel north of US 501 and SC 38.
Convert SC 22, US 501 and SC 38.
New construction parallel south of SC 22, US 501 and SC 38.
Convert SC 22, US 501, SC 576, US 76/US 301, SC 327 and build new construction towards Bennettsville.
In late 2003, the state decided to go with option three and started environmental impact studies in 2004. In February, 2005, North and South Carolina made an agreement on the location of Interstate 73's state crossing, which will parallel east of SC 38. Part of the agreement was that SCDOT would develop and construct the short section into North Carolina, while NCDOT would construct a connector route to the Carolina Bays Parkway from North Carolina. By end of 2006, what originally was planned to be "option three" became "option two" after a series of public meetings and completion of the impact studies; this was confirmed in 2007 with the northern half of Interstate 73. On May 30, 2006, SCDOT announced its preferred routing of Interstate 73 between Myrtle Beach and Interstate 95. Interstate 73 will begin where SC 22 starts at US 17 near Briarcliffe Acres. It will then proceed northwest crossing the proposed routing of Interstate 74. After passing Conway, Interstate 73 will leave SC 22 at a new interchange to be constructed west of US 701, and will then use a new highway to be built between SC 22 and SC 917 north of Cool Spring. I-73 will then use an upgraded SC 917 to cross the Little Pee Dee River. It will then proceed on a new freeway alignment between SC 917 and Interstate 95 that would have an interchange with US 76 west of Mullins and then would proceed northwest to an exit with US 501 near Latta, passing that city to the south before intersecting I-95 near SC 38. In February 2008, the Record of Decision for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the section of Interstate 73 from Interstate 95 to SC 22 was signed. An October 22, 2008 ceremony marked the signing of the Record of Decision for the section from the North Carolina state line to Interstate 95. The state asked for $300 million in TIGER grant money for the interchange at I-95 and 11 miles of I-73. In February 2010 the federal government announced the state would receive $10 million. On April 21, 2011, the SCDOT voted to spend $105 million on the interchange, which was expected to cost $150 million, including a six-mile section of I-73. Supporters called it "The Interchange of Hope", while opponents called it "The Interchange to Nowhere". On September 15, 2011, South Carolina road commissioners approved an $11.5 million plan to rebuild a bridge in Dillon County, near Latta. On November 7, 2011, Myrtle Beach city council member Wayne Gray asked area elected officials to consider using Road Improvement and Development Effort funds to pay for a portion of I-73. In June 2012, Miley and Associates of Columbia, South Carolina, recommended improvements to SC 38 and US 501 to create the Grand Strand Expressway, a position long held by the Coastal Conservation League, which asked for the study. SC Representative Alan Clemmons, head of the National I-73 Corridor Association, said such a plan had been considered but was not likely. Nancy Cave of the Coastal Conservation League reiterated support for upgrading SC 38 and US 501, along with US 521 and SC 9, after results of a new study were presented at an August 1, 2012, meeting of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. The study claimed that 90,000 people could leave the area 10 hours faster in an evacuation with I-73 and Southern Evacuation Lifeline both in place. On June 20, 2017, US Representative for South Carolina's 7th congressional district Tom Rice announced the United States Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit allowing for the construction of the South Carolina's portion of Interstate 73 from the North Carolina state line to Myrtle Beach. After the announcement, the South Carolina Department of Transportation's Transportation Commission chairman, Woody Willard of Spartanburg, said "I-73 is important for economic development and safety, as a quicker way to evacuate people from the Grand Strand when a hurricane approaches. But the commission will not designate any state money toward the project unless the Legislature passes a law requiring it."
Future
The "I-73 Intermediate Traffic and Revenue Study" by C&M Associates, dated February 2016, was to be presented to state transportation officials March 24, 2016. It included upgrades to SC 22. RIDE III, if approved by voters, would also provide funding for the Southern Evacuation Lifeline.
Exit list
The exit list is following the SCDOT preferred corridor and is subject to change.
