Interstate 73 was identified as a high priority route from Michigan to South Carolina in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Equity Act (ISTEA) that the US Congress passed in 1991. This Website provides information regarding the portion of Interstate 73 for which environmental studies have recently been completed by the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
The study area for I-73 in South Carolina followed the Great Pee Dee River to US 378 west of Conway, traveled along US 378 to US 501 and followed US 501 to the coast. It then proceeded up the coast to the North Carolina state line and then ran along the state line northwest to the Great Pee Dee River. This study area was divided into two projects. The Northern Project ties to Interstate 73/74 in the Rockingham/Hamlet, North Carolina region and runs south across the South Carolina/North Carolina state line through Marlboro and Dillon Counties to a connection at Interstate 95. The Southern Project continues from Interstate 95 and run to State Route 22 (Conway Bypass, or Veteran's Highway) in the Myrtle Beach/Conway area. The Northern and Southern Projects are shown in the maps to the right.
PROJECT UPDATE - IMPORTANT PROJECT NEWS:
The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Project has been signed.
S.C. Secretary of Transportation H.B. “Buck” Limehouse and FHWA Division Administrator Bob Lee signed the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for I-73 North on August 6, 2008. This project was a cooperative effort between SCDOT and NCDOT. The EIS for this project was initiated with the Notice of Intent, published in the Federal Register in July 2005. The 37 months to bring the project to the approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement is much less than the national average of over 5 years.
The FEIS is now available for public review. The I-73 North Final Environmental Impact Statement and Conceptual Plans are available at the Northern Corridor webpage. There also are several locations where the EIS will be available to the public starting the week of August 11th. In South Carolina they are the Dillon County Library, the Lake View Library, the Latta Library, the Marlboro County Library, the Matheson and Cheraw Branches of the Chesterfield County Library, and the Society Hill Library, as well as at the SCDOT District 5 Maintenance Office. In North Carolina the FEIS will be at the Hamlet Public Library, the Kemp Memorial Library, the Rockingham Public Library, and the Scotland County Memorial Library.
We anticipate the Record of Decision for this project to be issued in the Fall of 2008.
The Record of Decision (ROD) for the Southern Project has been issued.
On February 8, 2008, S.C. Secretary of Transportation H.B. “Buck” Limehouse and U.S. Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Thomas Barrett signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for I-73 South during a brief ceremony in Myrtle Beach. The ROD represents the final approval of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and completes the environmental review process for the I-73 South Project. The ROD, approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), locks in the Selected Alternative. The FHWA approval of the ROD also permits the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to begin expending currently available federal funding in the acquisition of right of way for the project.
In the press release for the signing ceremony released by the SCDOT, Deputy Secretary Barrett was quoted as saying, “The Record of Decision represents a major milestone for the I-73 South project. This important step was reached in a little over thee years, far ahead of the national average of closer to six years for projects similar to I-73”.
A link to the Record of Decision has been added at the bottom of this page.
An electronic version of the Conceptual Plans, showing the location of the Selected Alternative for I-73 South, has been added to this Website. It may be found under the Southern Corridor-Conceptual Plans page.
Acquisition of New Right of Way
As stated above, the SCDOT is now able to use federal funds to begin the acquisition of new right of way for the new interstate. During their September 2007 meeting, the SCDOT Commission voted to spend $80 million of the funding that has been allocated for I-73 to purchase new right of way. While the schedule for right of way acquisition has not yet been finalized, it is anticipated that the acquisition could begin by late 2008.
The SCDOT follows a right of way acquisition process that is designed to help protect the rights of property owners. When the acquisition process begins, affected property owners will be contacted by a SCDOT Right of Way agent to schedule a time to meet and explain the entire acquisition process. After that meeting, a certified property appraisal is completed and an offer is made for the property. Those persons who will be required to be relocated will be provided with information regarding the availability of suitable replacement property, as well compensation for items such as relocation expenses. No one will be forced to vacate their home until this entire process has been accomplished.
The SCDOT published information concerning the right of way acquisition process in a booklet entitled "Highways and You". A link to this booklet may be found at the bottom of this page.
Additional information regarding both the Northern Project and the Southern Project is available on their respective Pages.
Other Project Information:
Notices of Intent
Northern Project (52kb PDF file) First published on August 9, 2004. Revised Notice of Intent published on July 22, 2005
Southern Project (58kb PDF file) - Published on August 9, 2004.
Record of Decision – I-73 South
I-73 South Record of Decision (23.17mb PDF file) - Signed on October 22, 2008
Project Newsletters
The Project Team periodically makes Project Newsletters available to the public through this Website. These newsletters are intended to inform the public about the progress of the environmental studies, as well as to educate the public about specific aspects of the project.
Issue No. 1(477kb PDF file)
Issue No. 2 (2.24mb PDF file)
Issue No. 3 (3.97mb PDF file)
The SCDOT Right of Way Acquisition Process
“Highways and You” (487kb PDF file)
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