Interstate 73 and 701 Connector
State scales back highway study area to reduce harm to wildlife refuge
Heeding concerns from SELC and others, the South Carolina Department of Transportation has scaled back by one half the study area for a proposed interstate, which would run from northern Michigan to Myrtle Beach, to avoid impacting the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge and surrounding area is a nationally significant conservation zone, with vital habitat for rare and endangered species, including Red Cockaded Woodpeckers, Shortnosed Sturgeon, and the northern-most nesting area for the increasingly rare Swallow Tailed Kite.
©Bill Lea
SELC is working in partnership with several groups to ensure the South Carolina portion of this proposed interstate from Detroit to Myrtle Beach avoids serious environmental damage to the state's fragile wetlands and wildlife habitat.
SCDOT's action follows months of opposition from SELC, the Coastal Conservation League, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the refuge, and many other federal and state agency personnel concerned about the devastating impacts of the project on the region's biological resources. The exact route for the interstate has not been determined. An Environmental Impact Statement is now being prepared to determine the corridor for the section of the highway from I-95 to the coast.
In an earlier feasibility study completed in 2003, SCDOT identified a route for I-73 that would end west of the town of Conway (the pink line on this map) as the least costly alternative. However, this route terminates in a largely undeveloped area with no direct link to the coast, therefore requiring construction of the controversial "701 Connector" - sometimes called the Southern Conway Bypass (shown in dark blue on this map) - through the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge to reach Myrtle Beach. Not only would the connector directly impact the refuge, it would open vast environmentally sensitive areas around the refuge to development. It would also take longer and cost more to build.
Alternatively, a route between U.S. 501 and S.C. 9 (area shaded in green on this map) could connect with the existing Conway Bypass, recently completed at a cost of $400,000,000. This would allow a direct connection to the Carolina Bays Parkway, a 4-lane divided highway being built in phases that parallels the coast. SELC and CCL are not opposed to a routing of I-73 that connects to the Conway Bypass and uses existing highway corridors as much as possible. This will reduce the cost, construction time and environmental impacts of the project, providing a win/win/win for project proponents, taxpayers and conservationists.
We will continue to participate, on behalf of the South Carolina conservation community, in the corridor selection, project design and mitigation proposals to ensure that any necessary highway improvements serve demonstrated transportation needs with a minimal amount of environmental impacts.
