SC Now Staff
Florence Morning News
Published: April 22, 2011
Click here to be taken to the article at www.scnow.com.
The reality of an Interstate 73 took another leap forward Thursday when the S.C. Department of Transportation’s highway commission voted to spend $105 million to start construction on the Interstate 95-to-Latta portion of the freeway.
The commission action, celebrated in a press release Friday by the National I-73/74/75 Corridor Association, came in the form of a resolution seeking permission to sell $290 million in state roads. The I-73 piece is the largest part of the request. All of it is subject to review by the Joint Bond Review Committee. More public hearings will be a part of that process.
The centerpiece of the I-73 funding will be the interchange at I-95, dubbed by some pro-73 groups the “Interchange of Hope.” The state money will follow the first part of the funding, which came from an earmark, followed by state infrastructure grant money and, more recently, a $10 million federal TIGER (Transportation Generating Economic Recovery) grant. The TIGER grant is part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.
Supporters of the I-73 project, which will link Myrtle Beach and the Pee with the Midwest all the way to Michigan, were jubilant at the news.
"Approval of the Dillon County interchange is great news and the result of a collaborative group effort,” state Rep. Alan Clemmons, chairman of the National I-73/74/75 Corridor Association, said.
Added Brad Dean, president/executive director of the association and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, “This is great news for I-73. What it tells us is it’s no longer a matter of if it will be built, but when it will be built. I think we’re certainly a lot closer to having interstate access along the grand strand than ever before.”
Jeff McKay, executive director of the North Eastern Strategic Alliance, an economic recruiter for northeastern South Carolina, said, “It’s a statement. We won’t get this (I-73) done with state money alone. So this lets the federal people know that we’re serious, we’re moving along on this project.”
The interstate, from Myrtle Beach to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., could take 10 years or more to complete. It would cross six states — Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and the Carolinas — and cover 80 miles in four South Carolina counties: Dillon, Marlboro, Marion and Horry. The complete I-73 project, which includes road improvement from the North Carolina state line to Horry County, will span 44 miles and is expected to affect 81 homes and 71 businesses.
The project is expected to a huge economic generator. According to an economic impact study conducted by former Coastal Carolina University Research Economist Dr. Donald Schunk, the construction of I-73 in can be expected to create a total of 7,718 jobs, including new construction jobs and jobs generated regionally through economic ripple effects. The study also concludes that over a full construction phase of five years, a total of 38,600 positions would be supported and nearly $1.4 billion in household income would be generated.
The corridor would also open up areas of Marlboro, Dillon and Marion counties — three counties that consistently have some of the highest unemployment rates in the state — to industrial development as well as road construction jobs.
It also would be the first interstate link to Myrtle Beach, the heart of the state’s $16 billion tourism industry. In addition, I-73 is expected to cut hurricane evacuation times from the Grand Strand by 11 to 15 hours.
Funding approval by state officials didn’t come without objections.
SCDOT commissioner Sarah Nuckles voted against the funding package that included the I-95/73 interchange. The State newspaper in Columbia also reported Coastal Conservation League officials objected to funding the project over roads that ranked higher on the state’s transportation priorities list.
Dean was critical of the project’s naysayers.
“I haven’t figured out what Mrs. Nuckles and the opponents don’t like — more jobs, more industry, more tourists or maybe they just don’t want to save lives in the event of a hurricane,” Dean said.
The new road has also been touted as a much more efficient hurricane evacuation route.
"We’re not sure what they don’t like,” Dean said, “because we think all those are worthy goals for I-73.”
NESA, the state General Assembly, the S.C. Congressional Delegation, along with the Obama Administration through the TIGER grant, all aided the success of this latest project by helping to secure funding for the interchange in Dillon County, I-73 proponents said.
“The focus now will be on securing funding in the upcoming (federal) Highway Reauthorization Bill, where one of the most important things will be to make sure that we have a presence in Washington to emphasize our investment in the project and highlight the positive economic impact it would have it terms of attracting business and creating jobs,” Clemmons said.
There are four phases of I-73 that South Carolina is responsible for building. One portion, designated S.C. 22, is already completed and runs from U.S. 501 between Conway and Aynor in an arc to North Myrtle Beach.
Other portions will run from the North Carolina line at Wallace, from I-95 to Latta and from Latta to Galivants Ferry. The Latta-to-Galivants Ferry portion is the only portion without funding.
Dean said the next step in the I-73 process will be to get the construction going, create desperately-needed jobs in the Pee Dee and start working on building the next portion of the interstate.
Once the portion to Latta is complete, a 30-mile gap to Galivants Ferry will remain to complete the link between I-95 and Myrtle Beach, he said.
Before state officials approving the interchange funding, federal highway funding had been a challenge. Now, with the road under construction, getting federal funding should be much easier, Dean said.
“Now that we’ll have progress under way and we’re only talking about how to connect pieces, we’re much better positioned to get more of our tax dollars from the federal government back here, create jobs and build I-73 sooner than later,” he said.
The next step for state officials will be the political equivalent of a full-court press.
"We’ll be leading a large group from the Grand Strand and Pee Dee to go up to Washington in early May; that was already planned,” Dean said. That will be just a part of leaders’ plans to maintain a presence in Washington to lobby for the interstate.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
NESA Aims to Capitalize on Region's Transportation Options
By: Conan Gasque
Published by the Florence Morning News, April 21, 2011.
Hop on Interstate 95 and you could end up anywhere from Miami to Maine.
But officials with the North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) hope to ride this highway to economic success over the next few years.
Officials with NESA, an economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in northeastern South Carolina, said the presence of major highways like I-95 and I-20 could help them attract thousands of jobs to the area.
That’s because interstates like these are particularly appealing to distribution companies, and that’s why NESA had made these businesses one of its main targets for future development.
“A company’s chief goal is to get products into a consumer’s hands as quickly as possible,” said Jeff McKay, NESA’s executive director.
Friday’s news that $105 million in additional key funding has been secured for the I-73 interchange at I-95 in Latta surely will add to the region’s appeal, McKay said.
"Any company looking to relocate here with logistic concerns, and that’s just about everybody, is going to notice this,” he said. “We’ve already got 20 and 95 and if you add 73 going into Michigan, that’s pretty impressive. It adds to our advantages in this area.”
The Pee Dee and Grand Strand have multiple advantages over other parts of the country when helping companies reach that goal, he said.
McKay estimates that distribution centers located in the region could extend products to 60 percent of the country’s population within a day’s truck drive.
That might not be so easy at distributions centers in major cities, which tend to have major traffic problems, he said.
“We’re building a case here to say that we aren’t a congested market,” McKay said. “We’re a great location for any logistics-type company that you're looking for, because we don't have that congestion.”
But highways aren’t the only route for distributing goods. There’s also rail, air and ports, all of which exist in or near the NESA region.
“I think we have all the things in place; it’s a matter of taking advantage of the resources we have, going out marketing, getting in front of the right folks, and getting (them) to do business here,” McKay said.
That’s something he said the region probably hasn’t done aggressively enough with distribution centers in the past. In spite of that, a handful of centers already exist within the region, like QVC and IFC in Florence, Harbor Freight in Dillon and Walmart’s distribution center in Chesterfield.
These centers serve as examples that logistics and distribution industries can succeed within the NESA region.
“Anytime you’re talking to someone, they want to see a proven track record,” McKay said. “And I think you can look at the success of the other distribution companies that we have in the region, and if they can’t help us sell this area, then we’re never going to be successful.”
Beyond transportation methods, though, the region possesses another advantageous characteristic: geography. Its central location along the east coast makes distribution to many larger cities relatively easy.
And the region’s reach grows even more in the next few years as construction begins on I-73. The interstate, from Myrtle Beach to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., could take at least 10 years to complete. It would cross six states — Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and the Carolinas — and cover 80 miles in four South Carolina counties: Marlboro, Dillon, Marion and Horry.
At a cost of $2 billion, it will be the first interstate link to Myrtle Beach, the heart of the state’s $16 billion tourism industry. Some say it also could cut hurricane evacuation times from the Grand Strand by 11 to 15 hours.
"I-73 will give us an ultimate access into the Michigan area,” McKay said. “So that’s just another added benefit or added asset on the existing infrastructure that we’re able to offer.”
Published by the Florence Morning News, April 21, 2011.
Hop on Interstate 95 and you could end up anywhere from Miami to Maine.
But officials with the North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) hope to ride this highway to economic success over the next few years.
Officials with NESA, an economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in northeastern South Carolina, said the presence of major highways like I-95 and I-20 could help them attract thousands of jobs to the area.
That’s because interstates like these are particularly appealing to distribution companies, and that’s why NESA had made these businesses one of its main targets for future development.
“A company’s chief goal is to get products into a consumer’s hands as quickly as possible,” said Jeff McKay, NESA’s executive director.
Friday’s news that $105 million in additional key funding has been secured for the I-73 interchange at I-95 in Latta surely will add to the region’s appeal, McKay said.
"Any company looking to relocate here with logistic concerns, and that’s just about everybody, is going to notice this,” he said. “We’ve already got 20 and 95 and if you add 73 going into Michigan, that’s pretty impressive. It adds to our advantages in this area.”
The Pee Dee and Grand Strand have multiple advantages over other parts of the country when helping companies reach that goal, he said.
McKay estimates that distribution centers located in the region could extend products to 60 percent of the country’s population within a day’s truck drive.
That might not be so easy at distributions centers in major cities, which tend to have major traffic problems, he said.
“We’re building a case here to say that we aren’t a congested market,” McKay said. “We’re a great location for any logistics-type company that you're looking for, because we don't have that congestion.”
But highways aren’t the only route for distributing goods. There’s also rail, air and ports, all of which exist in or near the NESA region.
“I think we have all the things in place; it’s a matter of taking advantage of the resources we have, going out marketing, getting in front of the right folks, and getting (them) to do business here,” McKay said.
That’s something he said the region probably hasn’t done aggressively enough with distribution centers in the past. In spite of that, a handful of centers already exist within the region, like QVC and IFC in Florence, Harbor Freight in Dillon and Walmart’s distribution center in Chesterfield.
These centers serve as examples that logistics and distribution industries can succeed within the NESA region.
“Anytime you’re talking to someone, they want to see a proven track record,” McKay said. “And I think you can look at the success of the other distribution companies that we have in the region, and if they can’t help us sell this area, then we’re never going to be successful.”
Beyond transportation methods, though, the region possesses another advantageous characteristic: geography. Its central location along the east coast makes distribution to many larger cities relatively easy.
And the region’s reach grows even more in the next few years as construction begins on I-73. The interstate, from Myrtle Beach to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., could take at least 10 years to complete. It would cross six states — Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia and the Carolinas — and cover 80 miles in four South Carolina counties: Marlboro, Dillon, Marion and Horry.
At a cost of $2 billion, it will be the first interstate link to Myrtle Beach, the heart of the state’s $16 billion tourism industry. Some say it also could cut hurricane evacuation times from the Grand Strand by 11 to 15 hours.
"I-73 will give us an ultimate access into the Michigan area,” McKay said. “So that’s just another added benefit or added asset on the existing infrastructure that we’re able to offer.”
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
3V Incorporated Announces Expansion in Georgetown County
Gov. Nikki Haley, the South Carolina Department of Commerce and Georgetown County today announced that 3V Incorporated will expand its operations in Georgetown County. The plan includes a $15 million investment and the creation of 30 new jobs over the next five years.
“South Carolina has been home to our operations for a number of years and we look forward to increasing our presence here. Georgetown County has been an excellent fit for our company, providing a positive business environment, a talented workforce and exceptional market access. We appreciate the support we have received from state and local officials in making this expansion a reality,” said Reed Barker, logistics manager for 3V Incorporated.
3V Incorporated, a manufacturer of specialty chemicals, will expand its chemical manufacturing facility in Georgetown.
“Encouraging investment and expansion that create jobs across South Carolina is our administration's focus day in and day out, so this announcement by 3V is not only welcome news – it's a reason to celebrate,” said Gov. Nikki Haley.
“3V Incorporated is a leading maker of specialty chemicals with clients around the globe. The company has also been part of the state’s business community for a number of years. This expansion reaffirms the company’s commitment to our state and serves as another indication that our state’s business-friendly climate and strong workforce are helping our state’s existing businesses grow and create jobs for South Carolinians,” said Bobby Hitt, Secretary of Commerce.
“We are pleased 3V Inc. will be investing capital resources and creating new engineering and skilled technician positions in Georgetown County. They have discovered that a qualified workforce exists in our community that enables them to be successful here,” Georgetown County Council Chairman Johnny Morant said. “Helping existing industries prosper and create jobs for our residents is important to Georgetown County. 3V Inc.’s expansion demonstrates their commitment to research and development in their field of specialty chemicals. Since coming to Georgetown County they have utilized their research center at their Georgetown facility to develop state of the art products serving the paper, detergent, textile, cosmetic, water treatment and plastics industries. We support their efforts to grow here and create exciting opportunities for our residents.”
“For Georgetown this is great news, especially for those residents who are unemployed. These new jobs are just what we need,” said state Rep. Carl L. Anderson. “I am very proud of 3V Inc. and their decision to make improvements to their facility and to hire more employees.”
3V Incorporated is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals used in a range of industries, in particular, for detergent, cosmetic, toiletry, paper and pharmaceutical markets. The company is a subsidiary of the 3V Group. For more information about the company, please visit www.3v.com.
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