WMBFNews.com | Myrtle Beach/Florence, SC | News, Weather, SportsBridges set to be replaced along Hwy. 701

Bridges set to be replaced along Hwy. 701

By Kyle Grainger - bio | email

YAUHANNAH, SC  (WMBF) –  Three bridges along Highway 701 in the Yauhannah community area set to be replaced, crossing the Great Pee Dee, Pee Dee Overflow and Yauhannah Lake between Horry and Georgetown Counties.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation says the bridges are structurally deficient and functionally obsolete, propmting the need for the $40 million replacement project.

For some who live in the Yauhannah neighborhood, they're worried the bridge may close completely during construction, leaving them cut off from parts of the community they depend on, and a longer drive between Conway and Georgetown.

"We go back and forth to the grocery store and to Conway," said Matthew Rogers. "It's a regular route for us."

"On very good occasions I do use [the] road. To Aynor usually to deer hunt, it's a very easy commute from Georgetown to there," said Jackson Timmons, who lives in Greenville and stops by Buck Buck Horn Deer Processing to get his deer processed.

Construction is expected to start around the spring of 2011. DOT officials are just waiting for approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, which usually takes about a year.

At a public hearing Monday night, DOT officials gathered information from residents about their concerns before deciding on a concrete path of construction. Many sharing  how important the bridge is to their way of life.

 "That bridge is a big part of us here in Yauhannah. Plus the outer parts of Georgetown and Conway, how long is it going to take to get this thing done?" added Rogers.

DOT officials say the bridges will stay open during construction and the preferred route for the new bridge will be built 55 feet downstream parallel to the current bridges.

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