Federal study announced for potential $450M Horry County hurricane escape route

Yahoo

05-05-2025

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — For more than 25 years, Horry County leaders have signaled the need for a hurricane escape route that would funnel traffic southward — avoiding possible catastrophic delays on its major arteries.
Through on-again, off-again promises of federal funding, environmental pushback and the need to address more immediate transportation priorities, the Southern Evacuation Lifeline — more commonly known as SELL — has never made it beyond the idea phase.
The latest effort to finally get the proposed 28-mile corridor built began April 24, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced plans for a draft environmental impact statement.
No timeline has been set for its completion, and a finished SELL is likely at least a decade away.
The first of four public input meetings are set from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on May 12 at the Robert H. Reed Recreation Center in Myrtle Beach.
By 2040, Horry County's population is projected to surpass 423,000 people as it remains one of the nation's fastest growing — and with a land size larger than the state of Rhode Island, managing traffic flow in emergencies has long been a concern.
'In 2018 flooding from Hurricane Florence nearly closed US 501. Large temporary barriers were constructed to contain high water levels for an extended duration. Businesses that are only accessible from US 501 were impacted, with some relocating for weeks at a time,' a 2023 state Department of Transportation SELL analysis said.
'Due to the long clearance times and the fragility of the evacuation routes due to flooding and traffic concerns, a secondary evacuation route would provide redundancy relief through the evacuation zone,' DOT said.
Groups including the Coastal Conservation League have long been opposed to the project, citing irreversible environmental impacts.
' SELL 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 will impact the Waccamaw Wildlife Refuge, forever alter traditional Gullah communities of Bucksport and Burgess, and spur the loss of rural farmland,' the organization says on its website.
'Horry County residents have repeatedly spoken out against large scale development in rural and farming communities, gentrification, flooding concerns, and traffic congestion.'
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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here.
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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
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