I-73 meetings set for Friday in Mullins, Monday in Florence

Proponents of I-73 look to rally support at a community meeting Friday, but a vocal opponent of the project will express her concerns at a separate event just days later, giving Pee Dee residents the chance to hear both sides of what is fasting becoming a contentious debate about the future of the proposed interstate through the region.

The group “I-73 for S.C.” will meet at the Milton Troy Senior Banquet Hall, 106 Gapway Street, in Mullins, to discuss the project’s benefits, according to a release issued Tuesday. Organizers of the event include city, town and county council members, as well as community activists and business professionals, from Marlboro, Marion, Dillon and Horry Counties – counties through which the proposed road will pass.

“These are grassroots folks, grassroots individuals saying, ‘Look, this is going to help our communities,” Rep. Terry Alexander, D-Florence, said. “We want to help engage folks in that regard.”

Alexander represents portions of Florence and Marion Counties that are District 59 in the S.C. House of Representatives and is one organizer for Friday’s event.

Alexander said there are some in the Pee Dee who remain unaware of the major economic impact I-73 will have on the Pee Dee and Friday’s rally is a way to provide additional information.

Similar rallies to promote the project have been held across the state since last year, most recently in Bennettsville on Jan. 26. I-73 will cut across Marlboro, Dillon and Marion counties as it makes it way from the North Carolina state line to Myrtle Beach. Proponents say it will bring tourists, jobs and tax revenue into the area.

South Carolina Transportation Commissioner Sarah Nuckles of Rock Hill, a vocal opponent of I-73, is scheduled to address the Florence area League of Women Voters at the Spears Fellowship Hall of Central United Methodist Church in Florence on Monday.

Nuckles has been a vocal critic of I-73 and the lone dissenter as the state board voted to recommend funding for the project through a massive state road bond.

Nuckles, however, has argued that the road will neither relieve congestion, assure economic progress nor improve hurricane evacuation times as supporters contest.

Nuckles says it would be more cost effective to improve existing roads rather than build a new highway, similar to what North Carolina has done with its leg of the interstate.

“I think we’re at a time in our state and our nation where we ought to be looking for more efficient ways to spend tax payer money,” she said.

Nuckles also said improvements to other roads and bridges across the state with high traffic volume, specifically I-85 and I-26, should be a priority over the construction of a new highway.

Both Ohio and Michigan abandoned their immediate plans to pursue I-73, citing lack of money and public support, something Nuckles said further shows SCDOT funds would be better spent on other projects. SCDOT ran into a wall near the end of 2011 when contractors and construction workers were waiting sometime up to 45 days to receive payment on road and bridge repairs.

In April, the commission voted to spend $105 million to begin construction of I-73 connecting I-95 to Latta, something Nuckles says was part of a bond deal sprung on members at the last minute that was “secretly negotiated” by other members of the commission for political purposes.

That funding awaits approval from the state legislature, and is expected to move ahead as part of a $344 million bond package.

Preparations for construction have led to complications in Latta. Officials said last week it would cost between $500,000 and $700,000 to move water lines so construction on that portion of the project can begin. The town is working under a March deadline to move the water lines. Town officials said they plan to apply for various forms of federal funding as well.

Both Friday’s rally and Monday’s meeting are open to the public.