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The US Army Corps of Engineers will hold public meetings to present and discuss the draft purpose and need being prepared as part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed South Carolina Highway 22 Extension project. These will be the first set in a series of community meetings as they take public input to draft the EIS. Drop-in style meetings will be held at the following locations: |
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Monday, May 12, 2025 General Robert H. Reed Recreation Center 800 Gabreski Ln, Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 Pee Dee Elementary School 6555 Hwy 134, Conway, SC 29527 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Wednesday, May 14, 2025 James Frazier Community Center 1370 Bucksport Rd, Bucksport, SC 29527 4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Thursday, May 15, 2025 Santee Cooper Meeting Room 100 Elm St, Conway, SC 29526 4:00 PM-6:00 PM |
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Please attend one of the meetings to tell US Army Corps of Engineers and SCDOT that this new highway is NOT needed and will exacerbate flooding and traffic concerns, not fix them. The proposed road across the Waccamaw had previously been dubbed theSouthern Evacuation Lifeline, “SELL,” but has been renamed to the SC Highway 22 Extension and was listed on the ballot question for the sales tax referendum as the “Southern Connector.” The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) completed the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2008 but then ran out of money to complete the final EIS. With the EIS more than 15 years out of date, the process had to be restarted in 2023, reconsidering all 16 possible routes. The SC-22 Extension would be a 28-mile, 4-lane interstate-standard road with huge interstate-standard interchanges and significant land use impacts. Theextension will induce sprawl in western Horry and Georgetown Counties and increase traffic on the already crowded Highway 17 and throughout the Grand Strand and Waccamaw Neck. The new highway would also impact hundreds of acres of theWaccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, wetlands, streams, and theWaccamaw River itself. These impacts could exacerbate existing flooding challenges faced by communities along the highway’s path – forever altering traditional Gullah communities of Bucksport and Burgess – and spur the loss of rural farmland. In addition, the area has successfully evacuated utilizing lane reversals in recent years. Modern forecasting has made it possible to evacuate well in advance. Our communities do, however, have issues with leaving and returning to from their homes in the aftermath of hurricanes due to riverine flooding. A new 28-mile interstate won’t fix this! We need to promote improving existing infrastructure first and foremost to provide for resiliency against a changing climate with more frequent and severe weather events. Please speak up for our Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge and our communities by attending one of the meetings. |