The effort to name the new back gate bridge at U.S. 17 Bypass and S.C. 707 for a long-time Horry County family moved closer Monday night after the Horry County Council voted to support the measure.

Council voted to support a proposal by Rep. Alan Clemmons, who will introduce the resolution in January to name the bridge after the Bellamy family. The city of Myrtle Beach voted in November to support the measure, as well.

The Bellamys, who moved to what is now Horry County in 1765, owned land near the back of the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, which is now where the $121.7 million bridge was constructed to address traffic concerns.

“The Bellamy family has been a long-time family in Myrtle Beach,” Clemmons said. “In fact, the new improvements there were built on what used to be the family farm. So, it’s a natural fit. The Bellamy family has always been a family at the center of the history of Myrtle Beach.”