Stormwater improvements in Longs near completion

By Ruben Lowman

Horry County’s ongoing effort to address the chronic drainage failures in the Longs area reached a significant milestone last week, as two major stormwater projects, centered on the high-traffic corridors of Highway 9 and Highway 90, are nearing completion.

These initiatives, primarily funded by the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA), represent a strategic investment in the resilience of the Longs community, an area historically prone to severe inundation during storms.

The first phase of this regional overhaul involves a $3 million project at the intersection of Highway 9 and Highway 57. Crews have completed the installation of dual relief culverts and extensive channel widening designed to handle significantly higher volumes of runoff than the previous system.

As of last week, the project has transitioned into the restoration phase, with teams focusing on median repair and repaving the affected work zones.

Horry County Government officials indicate that the project is on track for full completion before the end of the month, at which point normal traffic patterns will resume.

Simultaneously, a secondary project is wrapping up nearby along Jones Road, a critical artery feeding into the Highway 90 corridor. This operation replaced a bottleneck of three 36-inch pipes with two 6-foot wide by 5-foot tall box culverts.

The massive increase in the cross-sectional area is intended to prevent the frequent road overtopping that has historically isolated residents in this section of Longs during flash floods.

While the primary structural work is scheduled to finish this week, contractors will remain on-site throughout the month to handle minor site restoration and erosion control measures.

These projects are part of a broader, grant-funded portfolio overseen by Horry County Stormwater. By leveraging state-level RIA grants, the county is attempting to modernize infrastructure that has struggled to keep pace with both the changing climate and the rapid residential development of the Longs and Little River areas.

For residents along these corridors, the completion of these culverts should mark the end of a disruptive construction season and the beginning of a higher standard for flood protection.