Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Road widening woes aired in Surfside Beach

About 40 Surfside Beach area residents and property owners milled around looking at maps and renderings for the Glenns Bay Road widening during a public hearing Thursday on the project.

The crowd's reaction was mixed between support for the reduction of traffic congestion and concerns about increased noise and roads encroaching on private property.

One of the most significant parts of the S.C. Department of Transportation's project is the shifting of U.S. 17 Bypass farther west from its current location at the intersection of Glenns Bay Road and Holmestown Road and building an overpass.

On Glenns Bay Road the number of lanes will increase from two to five from the bypass to Kessinger Drive.

From Kessinger Drive to Spanish Oak Drive the lanes will taper to three lanes.

Sidewalks will also be added.

Final design is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010.

Property acquisition is expected to start in the spring and be completed within a year.

Construction is expected to take place between spring of 2011 and spring of 2014. The widening work will be funded from Horry County's RIDE II 1 percent sales tax program.

Christine Machtemes lives off Spanish Oak Drive and searched the plans for any efforts to straighten and fix the hairpin turn at the intersection of Glenns Bay Road and Spanish Oak Drive.

The plans call for expanding the roadway around the right hand turn onto Spanish Oak Drive. Overall, Machtemes said the plans looked like a good thing for the community.

"I think it will ease a lot of the congestion," she said. "Come 5 o'clock and try to turn right onto 17. It's horrendous. We were building so fast we didn't think ahead. We need some provisions for that road."

Rod Madert, a Myrtle Beach resident, owns property along Glenns Bay Road

"I think the sidewalks will be nice," he said.

"The turn lanes could help businesses"

Madert's property is undeveloped and he will have to give up about 10 feet of his property for the widening.

"It will mean I likely won't be able to build as big, or have as much parking," Madert said. "It could also affect my property value."

SCDOT Project Manager Mike Barbee said the state will offer fair market value for the property based on historical data and comparable sales. And owners are not restricted to the agency's first offer.

"If they think our offer is too low they have the right to counter-offer or get their own appraisal," Barbee said.

Michael Hall, a longtime resident who lives on Glenns Bay Road, spoke up during the public comment period concerned about noise and congestion. Each speaker was given two minutes.

"When I first came here, you could hear the waves from the beach," Hall said. "Now, all I hear is boom boom and toot toot. With this project there will be more noise, the road will be closer to everyone's yard. My main concern is the speeding. Right now, people treat it like it's a raceway."

Barbee said the 35 mph speed limit on the road will remain.