Southern Project

Since Congress approved a $3 million earmark for the Interstate 73 project, the SCDOT Commission has approved the use of a consultant to complete an initial environmental document.

In June 2003, the SCDOT staff completed a feasibility study that identified a 5,000 square mile study area for I-73 in South Carolina. Within the study area, the SCDOT conducted a planning level review to identify projected traffic volumes and preliminary environmental impacts associated with new location alternatives, as well as the upgrade of existing routes US 501 and SC 9 to interstate standards. The SCDOT study is preliminary, and was intended to initiate further environmental and engineering analyses. The review assessed environmental and social constraints, estimated traffic demand, alignment and design criteria, and preliminary costs of the project.

This study indicated that potential I-73 corridors for the entire project would be approximately 90 miles in length with projected traffic volumes of approximately 60,000 vehicles per day. Preliminary cost estimates range between $1 and $2 billion.

In mid-2004, SCDOT selected a consultant to perform the studies necessary to produce an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). During the summer of 2004, the project team prepared two Notices of Intent (one for a project from I-95 to the South Carolina/North Carolina State line, and another for a project from I-95 to the Myrtle Beach area) which were published in August. In August and September of that year, the consultant conducted project scoping meetings with the resource agencies and the public to receive input about issues and concerns regarding the construction of the project between I-95 and the Myrtle Beach area.

In late 2004 the Project Team, working with the various resource agencies and with regard to comments received from the public during the scoping meetings, began to develop potential alternative corridors for the project between I-95 and the Myrtle Beach area to present to the public. These potential corridors were developed to minimize impacts to environmental considerations such as wetlands, streams and other watercourses, threatened and endangered species sites, archaeological sites, and other valuable resources.

Four Public Information Meetings were held in March and May of 2005. The Potential Alternative Corridors shown at the meetings (and that are shown on this Website) were developed based on minimizing impacts to the environment. The Project Team is currently evaluating the community impacts of the various corridors. We will be attempting to strike an appropriate balance between environmental considerations and impacts to communities. No decisions have yet been made regarding any of the corridors.

Using the comments we received from these Public Information Meetings, comments we received on the Project Website and Telephone Hotline, and other factors that are pertinent to the Project Study Area, the Project Team developed a recommended Preferred Alternative that was presented to the public on May 30, 2006. A series of three Public Hearings, one in each county, was conducted in mid-June 2006. After the Public Hearings were completed, members of the Project Team performed field investigations to document conditions along the Preferred Alternative. These field investigations began in July and continued through the fall.

The Project Team continued with the public involvement process, in coordination with all Counties located within the project study area. These activities include public information meetings, briefings and presentations, maintaining the project website and telephone hotline, and other activities that are intended to help keep the public aware of the status of the project.

The SCDOT and the FHWA approved the Final Environmental Impact Statement document on November 29, 2007.

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.

The SCDOT is currently developing a schedule for the acquisition of right of way for the new interstate, which could occur by late 2008. Once the schedule has been finalized, it will be added to this Website.

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