Lane closures begin on Howard Ave. for Market Common road work - WMBFNews.com, Myrtle Beach/Florence SC, Weather

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Lane closures begin Monday on Howard Avenue in the Market Common for road improvements. The closures are necessary for city crews to install a mid-block crosswalk.

This crosswalk will go between Hackler Street and Iris Street. Business owners told the city council that their customers were having to park and then climb over the bushes in the median as they cross the street. The hope is a mid-block crosswalk will make it easier and safer for shoppers.

At full capacity, the former air force base can handle 5,000 homes. Myrtle Beach city spokesman Mark Kruea says right now there are about 3,000 homes in the area. So there is plenty of room for more growth and construction in the future. As the area continues to grow, city leaders fully expect to continue to make improvements to the area like those planned for Howard Avenue to make it more convenient for shoppers, drivers, and residents.

Here is a list of scheduled closures for Howard Avenue:

Southbound lanes will be closed from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11.

Both southbound and northbound lanes will be closed from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 12.

Northbound lanes will be closed from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13.

Both northbound and southbound lanes will be closed 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 14.

Once construction is done for the mid-block crosswalk, the speed limit on Howard Avenue, between Farrow Parkway and Hackler Street, will drop from its current 30 miles per hour to 25 miles per hour. This will help with continuity. The speed limit in all of the Market Common area is 25 m.p.h. or below. City leaders believe the change will also help with safety.

“The crosswalk is certainly a factor in lowering the speed limit,” said Kruea. “It’s only five miles per hour. We really don’t want people speeding down that little section of Howard.”

The final improvement planned for Howard Avenue will include adding a four-way stop at the intersection of Howard Avenue and Hackler Street. Kruea says that the problem is that drivers are not stopping for the current two-way stop. So they are seeing accidents in the intersection that shouldn’t be happening in the first place, said Kruea. The hope is that by making it a four-way stop, everyone will be forced to slow down and pay attention.

Both the speed limit change and the addition of the four-way stop will go into full effect on January 21.

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