Hoping my City-Data members in South Carolina can enlighten me some here about this recent news of a plan to widen Highway 9 from two to four lanes from Interstate 95 to the Grand Strand (actually more like widen the part from I-95 to where the two lanes go to four a few miles before crossing 701 heading to Loris). Apparently on Feb. 25, S.C. State Rep. William Bailey told Governor Henry McMaster that he is in discussions with members of the General Assembly about a plan for the widening. My question is, why?
First, the article states that "The number one tourism provider for the Grand Strand is the state of North Carolina. Other key provider states include NY, NJ, PA, and OH. The quickest exit for all northern visitors would be the Highway 9 exit at Dillon, S.C." Not true, and I know this as a North Carolina resident (Raleigh-Durham specifically) who frequently goes to North Myrtle Beach from I-95 but uses the I-74 interchange at Exit 14 in North Carolina for 26 miles, then get off onto Highway 410 at Chadbourn for 15 miles and finally Highway 701 at Tabor City for nearly 6 miles before getting onto Highway 9 just north of Loris. Going down I-95 to catch 9 in Dillon would not only be lengthier but also take longer due to having to slow down going through Dillon, Lake View and Nichols. Which brings up another issue ...
Nowhere in this article does it say whether the proposed 9 widening would involve the current route going through Dillon, Lake View and Nichols. If that's the case, it's going to cause some construction residents of these communities. But if it bypasses them, it's hard to see how much economic benefits they could reap from such a rerouting if people are in a hurry to and from the beach.
And finally, has anyone seen an updated traffic count to justify this widening? Is 9 from Dillon to Loris in heavy use by traffic up north, as claimed? Or is it mainly just local traffic, as I'm inclined to believe, in which case it's not really much traffic at all.
To me, S.C. legislators would be wiser in widening the 4 miles or so of 401 between the state line and Highway 9 bypass. Besides being much less expensive, it could possibly serve as an alternative to the apparently unlikely current routing planned for I-73 on or near Highway 38. I-73 already runs in conjunction with I-74 for a part in North Carolina. It could easily be extended and rerouted to be near or replace highways 410 and 701 in Chadbourn and Tabor City in North Carolina and connect to this widened part in South Carolina, assuming that the widened road is built to interstate standards, of course. That way, South Carolina could boast of having an interstate highway only a half hour drive from the Grand Strand. Heck, you could even upgrade part of 9 that's four lanes on the way to the beach to interstate standards and extend that new I-73 to end closer to the beach. Makes much more sense to me than what's being planned here now.
Anyway, that's my thoughts about this. Take a look at the story in the link and please let me know your opinion as well as any information I may have wrong or have overlooked.
https://myrtlebeachsc.com/sc-legisla...-lane-to-i-95/
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