'Interchange of Hope' to Provide Thousands of Jobs for 10 Years
May 31, 2009
SC Department of Transportation approves funding to purchase land for I-73 corridor.
FLORENCE, SC – May 28, 2009 – Efforts to secure federal funding for the South Carolina section of the proposed I-73 corridor, officially named the Interchange of Hope, received a big boost last week as the South Carolina Department of Transportation approved funding to purchase land necessary to begin its construction.
Congress designated the I-73 project as a Highway of National and Regional Significance in 2005 because of the crucial impact it will have on the regional economy. According to a report released earlier this year authored by economists at Coastal Carolina University, construction on the interchange will create more than 7,500 jobs throughout the ten years the project takes to complete.
The University report also indicated that the interchange would grow tourism at the famed Myrtle Beach and be a boon to area economic development efforts, bringing much needed jobs to the region’s hardworking but underemployed workforce.
This is precisely the type of job-creating stimulus necessary to get our economy back on track, said South Carolina’s Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Hugh Leatherman (R-Florence and Darlington). Our state and federal leaders are working to bring the jobs back to communities all across the country. Columbia’s decision to approve funding for the ‘Interchange of Hope’ is a good first step towards fulfilling that goal, and we now hope that Washington will follow suit.
The I-73 project has been one of our organization’s key focuses for some time, said Sen. J. Yancey McGill (D-Florence, Georgetown, Horry and Williamsburg), Chairman of the North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA), an economic development organization encompassing South Carolina’s northeast region. I am glad to see that progress is being made on making the ‘Interchange of Hope’ a reality, but now is not the time to rest on our laurels.
The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA)
The North Eastern Strategic Alliance (NESA) is a regional economic development organization that serves a nine-county region in the northeast corner of South Carolina. NESA’s primary objective is to significantly enhance the quality of life for residents of the region by creating additional jobs and capital investment within the existing industry base as well as through recruitment of new companies and expansion of tourism related development. NESA’s nine member counties are Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown, Horry, Marion, Marlboro and Williamsburg.
