By Betsy Finklea
County Administrator Clay Young addressed the Inland Port Traffic Study at the Dillon County Council’s last meeting calling it the most important economic development project for the future of Dillon County.
Young said they applied for this grant last spring. Young said he recognized a couple of years ago dealing with the traffic situation associated with Wyman-Gordon, Harbor Freight, and the Inland Port that the traffic had to be addressed. He said pre-COVID, he sat down with the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) about his concerns with traffic flow coming in. He said with the new Quik Trips coming in and other industry and development in the area that the concerns about traffic flow had grown.
Young said he and SCDOT agreed that there was a “real need” for a traffic study. SCDOT went to Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments (PDCOG) and made a presentation to be on the regional study. PDCOG approved Dillon County getting on the study.
Young and Lindsey Privette wrote and were awarded a grant for the traffic study in the amount of $100,000. The EDA portion is $80,000 and the Tri-County Committee is covering the match of $20,000. The county will work with PDCOG to bid the project.
They will get a traffic consulting firm to address the traffic flow issues and separating cars and trucks. They will also look at four-laning Highway 34 at Harllee’s Bridge to Longstreet Road.
“With the amount of development coming in, we need to do this work today,” said Young. “It’s the most important economic development project that Dillon County can do.”
“If we don’t address this issue right now,” said Young, “we’ll start seeing development go to other places due to traffic congestion out there. This project will be the number one project for the future of Dillon County.”
Young said, “This will probably be the biggest economic development project in the entire county ever.”
Upon a motion by Councilman Gerome McLeod and a second by Councilman Jamal Campbell, the council voted to approve moving forward with the project.