Where Scipio Lane and Hwy 707 meet will soon be getting a traffic light that will help address heavy traffic which is the result from Burgess Elementary School and several county buildings being located in that area. Some people say that the new light comes at a perfect time as plans for nearby road construction projects such as the widening of S.C. 707 and the extension of S.C. 31, that may cause heavier traffic volumes for Holmestown Road.

Holmestown Road, which runs east and west, and is an extension of Glenns Bay Road on the west side of U.S. 17 Bypass, and extends to S.C. 707.

Scipio Lane is home to the the Strand Recreation Center, the South Strand Government Complex, a county recycling center, as well as a fire station. Scipio Lane intersects to the north and south with Holmestown Road and provides access to Burgess Elementary.

 S.C. Department of Transportation district traffic engineer Mike Bethea, said that the state has proformed a study for the light and is currently preparing the ground for installation.

“We looked at the traffic volume and looked at the data and the accident history, with the school back there, it justified a traffic signal,” Bethea said. “The main reason for the traffic signal is the traffic volume. There’ve been some accidents there, but not a high number of accidents.”

Al Jordan, who is the president of the Greater Burgess Community Association, says that there may be a link to the Burgess Elementary School traffic and the tied-up traffic on Holmestown.

“I think that probably an awful lot of the traffic problems occur around the school hours,” Jordan said. “I’ve heard people in the community talk about how difficult it is to get out of there for people at the school, but also at the new recreation center and the South Strand complex recycling center. I know it’s a problem area and I hear complaints about it.”

Jordan said the planned widening of S.C.707, which is slated to be completed by 2017, will bode well with this traffic light.

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Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/12/13/3901910/traffic-light-planne...\
Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/12/13/3901910/traffic-light-planne...
Read more here: http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/12/13/3901910/traffic-light-planne...