CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Come January, Horry County’s railways will get a major overhaul.
Right now, trains running from Horry to Marion counties can only travel up to 10 miles per hour, however, Horry County is sponsoring a $17 million grant to upgrade 58,000 rail ties and nine miles of rail to change that.
Officials say once the project is complete, trains will be able to travel up to 25 MPH, which will have a big effect on local businesses, like the lumber company out of Conway.
“If we can ship more lumber, we can make more lumber, and we can hire more people to cut more lumber. It’s the old trickle down effect,” Gary Loftus, a member of Horry County Council and Chairman of the county’s Transportation Committee said.
According to Horry County officials, the railway improvements will also get heavy shipping trucks off the roads.
“One boxcar equals five trucks, 10 trucks, so if you bring in a train with 30 boxcars, you get 1,200 trucks off the roads, so it’s not a bad tradeoff,” Loftus said.
The county is expecting the project to take several years; they are anticipating completion by late 2021.
“It’s not gonna happen overnight, because they have to upgrade the railroad while they’re using the railroad. It’s not like they’re building a new line,” Loftus said.
The majority of construction will take place during the winter seasons, and the lighter work will be done during the summer months.
