SCDOT Contracts for Repairs to Robert Edge Parkway - Expect Road Closures/Detours September 8-30

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has contracted for repairs to Robert Edge Parkway in North Myrtle Beach. The repair contract period is September 8 through September 30.

The contract focuses on repairs to the bridge approach slab on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway, which is the transition piece between the roadway and the bridge that spans the Waterway (formally named the J. Bryan Floyd Bridge).

According to information provided by SCDOT:

• On September 8 – The eastbound (inbound) lanes on Robert Edge Parkway from Highway 17 to beyond the bridge will close for a period of about two weeks. During this time, motorists will not be able to enter North Myrtle Beach using Robert Edge Parkway but will have to do so via alternate routes.

• On September 22 (estimated) – The eastbound (inbound) and westbound (outbound) lanes on Robert Edge Parkway from Highway 17 to beyond the bridge will close for three to five days. During this time, motorists will not be able to enter or exit North Myrtle Beach using Robert Edge Parkway but will have to do so via alternate routes.

• Detours will be posted via SC Highway 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway), SC Highway 9 and U.S. Highway 17.

 Dates associated with the above information could change as the contractor moves closer to the start of work. Weather and/or any unknown repair issues could impact dates. Even so, motorists should be prepared to adjust their travel plans referencing the above dates.

Robert Edge Parkway opened September 3, 2009. According to news articles at the time, the road required nearly 200 workers, 2 million pounds of steel in the bridge, 8,000 linear feet of concrete beams supporting the bridge, concrete equivalent to 570 dump trucks loads, and nearly five years to complete.

The parkway is named for Robert Edge Sr., who became North Myrtle Beach’s first mayor in 1968. For 12 years prior, Edge was the mayor of Crescent Beach, one of the four towns that through Edge's efforts merged to become the city of North Myrtle Beach.

On September 8, 2010, a ceremony was held to name the Intracoastal Waterway bridge that is part of the parkway for J. Bryan Floyd, who succeeded Edge as mayor, serving from 1974 to 1980.