Monday, the city of Myrtle Beach gave less than 48 hours noticed it would close Fred Nash Boulevard for three months.
The closure will start this Wednesday. Last Wednesday, the city said due to so many complaints from people who live and work around Fred Nash Boulevard they would reconsider closing the road.
City officials met Monday, and decided to still move forward with the closure. The road closure is because of the Walmart shopping center coming to the corner of Farrow Parkway.
But the people who work on this road say closing Fred Nash Boulevard is dangerous.
“We’ve heard enough feedback today and not close farrow parkway right there starting Monday,” said City Spokesperson Mark Kruea last week.
At 1:30 p.m. Monday, News 13 was told there had been no updates
But a few hours later, we found out city public works officials were going door-to-door notifying business owners the road would be closed.
“So temporary was temporary for the weekend,” said Andrew Parness.
Parness spoke to News 13 last week when the closure was first announced.
He and his employees say what’s frustrating is they’ve told their customers to take Fred Nash Boulevard as a safer alternative
“Shetland {Avenue} is just a death trap,” said Parness.
Last month News 13 reported a deadly wreck happened right at the intersection of Shetland Avenue and Highway 17.
Parness is not the only one concerned about the closure.
“We’re worried about the safety, I’m worried about {Highway} 17 being completely blocked by traffic,” said Courtney Fancher.
Fancher is the executive director of the Palmetto Academy which is on Fred Nash Boulevard.
Fancher says she was notified of the closure Monday at around 2pm by city officials.
The announcement was so sudden she had not even notified parents of the coming closure yet, or figured out how the school will work around SCDOT requirements.
“When we opened DOT specifically told us that it’s {Shetland Avenue} not a safe way for us to be coming to and from school and we were to use Fred Nash {Boulevard} as the official entrance to the school,” she said.
News 13 was able to get the report SCDOT sent to Fancher. In it, it says they “strongly recommend the school direct all school traffic away from the intersection,”.
Fancher says they were required to buy a “no right turn” sign from SCDOT. The sign gives law enforcement the authority to take action.
Something she says the city did not even know SCDOT required.
The city is suggesting drivers not cut across traffic at Shetland avenue and instead detour towards George Bishop Parkway or U-turn at the over pass.
News 13 drove both routes and Shetland Avenue to George Bishop Parkway and back takes 3:40.
And the southbound detour takes 3:00 minutes.
