NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — People fish along the side of the road in Cherry Grove every day, and North Myrtle Beach said that's part of the reason it wants to build a new boardwalk along House Creek.
The project is designed and permitted, but there's still a big question: How will the city pay for it?
The project is estimated at six million dollars, and the state funding secured so far is less than half of what the city had hoped to receive.
The federal permit plans show a boardwalk about 12 feet wide and nearly 1,500 feet long, running along Lake Drive and 39th Avenue North here at House Creek in North Myrtle Beach.
It would also include multiple decks and fishing stations. City officials said part of the goal is getting people who fish along the edge of this road into a safer spot.
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Right now, if you want to fish at the House Creek, you may find yourself doing it right beside traffic. There's no sidewalk along a stretch of the road.
State representative William Bailey said that's been a concern for years.
"There's no sidewalk on this road, and there's been meaning to be sidewalk forever because of the danger and stuff with excessive traffic. So this project is going to be one of the best things that's ever happened to North Myrtle Beach and Cherry Grove," said William Bailey, State Representative, District 104.
The city's plan would put a public boardwalk along House Creek, about 12 feet wide and 1,480 feet long, with several decks and fishing stations along the way.
Federal permit documents say the purpose is to give residents and visitors safer access to House Creek for fishing and wildlife and nature viewing.
The design and permitting process is now complete. However, paying for it is the next challenge.
"They came to me and said, look, is there any way you can try to get some state funds? Because we think this is going to be a statewide type of project that the whole state is going to benefit from," said Bailey.
The city manager puts the current estimated price tag at about six million dollars.
The city had hoped the state would cover about half, roughly three million.
Bailey secured 1.22 million dollars from the state budget, about 1.78 million short of that original state-funding goal.
"So we requested 2 million from the state budget, and they come in and they evaluate projects and stuff. And this year, we got jammed up with the General Assembly deciding how we're going to meet certain goals. As we met those certain goals, our project here was trimmed by about 800,000," said Bailey.
But that doesn't necessarily mean the project is 1.8 million dollars short of being built. The city still has to put the project out for bid.
City manager Ryan Fabbri said if those bids come in lower than the six-million-dollar estimate, that could reduce or even eliminate the funding gap.
And that's the number we're watching next. The city expects to open bids before the end of the year.
If the money and contract come together, City Manager Ryan Fabbri said construction could begin by next summer.
But we're also asking another question: Who pays to maintain nearly 1,500 feet of boardwalk once it's built, and what will that cost long term?
ABC 15 asked city officials for those details. We're still waiting to hear back.
This wouldn't be North Myrtle Beach's first boardwalk along the Cherry Grove marsh. The nearby Russell Burgess Coastal Preserve has had one since 2009 — built to provide access while helping protect the marsh habitat.