Postal Way extension within weeks of opening in Carolina Forest

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WMBF) - The commute through Carolina Forest is about to get a major upgrade, as the extension of Postal Way is nearly complete.

”Just looking forward to seeing how things are going to go once everything gets complete,” said Donnie Green, who lives behind Tanger Outlets.

Green has had his fair share of orange traffic barrels in his yard over the past year.

His view of woods has been knocked down and replaced with Carolina Forest’s next major roadway.

“It’s got access to the Publix and the post office where we don’t have to go all the way around to get on [Highway] 501,” said Green.

Postal Way used to dead-end into the woods behind the Publix in Carolina Forest, but the new extension will take it behind Tanger Outlets and connect with Highway 501.

That new extension is nearly finished, as crews were already driving along it while painting the centerline.

“That’s going to be in the short-term future,” said Horry County spokesperson Kelly Moore. “They’ll see an announcement on that in the next couple of weeks I would imagine.”

That means Publix shoppers will have a new route to the grocery store before too long.

“I’m super excited now that we can get to the outlets and avoid a bit of traffic on 501,” said Cesar Guerrero during his Publix shopping trip.

While Green’s looking forward to having more access to the rest of Carolina Forest, he says it’s a bit of a catch-22, because he’s expecting to see a lot more traffic coming by his house.

“I’m worried about that, especially tourist people and stuff like that,” said Green. “I’m sure there will be a lot more of that coming through now.”

Before the extension opens, the county intends to take down the four-way stop at Oakheart Road and Postal Way in front of Publix.

Postal Way will get the right of way there to keep traffic moving since it’s becoming more of a major road.

That change will start next week, on Tuesday.

The view driving along the extension won’t stay this scenic forever.

The Horry County Council approved 300 new apartments to line the north side of the new Postal Way.

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