At a meeting in Conway, S.C. yesterday, Horry County leaders put their best foot forward promoting the November ballot referendum on Ride IV.
Initially proposed as a $4 billion infrastructure package, Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner told MyrtleBeachSC News that the total for Ride IV is now estimated at somewhere near $5.8 billion. Official promotional materials by the county have the program’s costs at $5.5 billion.
Key components of the road include developing I-73 from Marion County to Highway 501 in Myrtle Beach and running Highway 22 west near Burgess Community across Bucksport into Highway 378 heading towards Columbia, S.C.
ENTIRE PROJECT LIST
RIDE 4 Packet – January 22 2024 by MyrtleBeachSC news on Scribd
The Bucksport expressway was originally called the Southern Evacuation Life Line, however, members of SCDOT asked for a name change, explicitly stating the road could not be called an evacuation life line.
Said Thomas Bell, Asst. Public Information Officer, Horry County, “The big achievements for the Ride IV program is looking to have projects that will have immediate impacts that will kind of fix some of the capacity issues we already have on some of the county roads.“
Added Bell, “So we are talking about the widening of Highway 90. That comes up all of the time…. projects that will have immediate impacts as far as that capacity issues. Some safety issues regarding some of the major intersections around the county.“
Bell stated, “But then we are also talking about major projects, such as, the southern extension of Highway 22. That would really bring inter-connectivity around the county.”
Asst. Horry County Manager David Gilreath told residents last night that Horry County would need to borrow money from the S.C. State Infrastructure Bank to prefund projects so that they could get going. He said this would be necessary within the first ten years after the passing of Ride IV.
Ride IV is the most expensive, longest duration, road initiative taken on by Horry County in area’s long history. Continued rapid growth in the community has pushed leaders to examine more comprehensive approaches.