Road Improvement and Development Effort or RIDE is a plan for road projects in

Horry County, South Carolina Horry County ( ) is the easternmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2010 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 351,029. It is the fourth-most populous county in South Carolina. The co ...

, including Carolina Bays Parkway, Veterans Highway and

Robert Grissom Parkway Robert M. Grissom Parkway, locally known as Grissom Parkway, is a major four-lane connector highway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The road begins at Harrelson Boulevard near Myrtle Beach International Airport and terminates in Carolina Forest, ...

. The first phase, costing $1.1 billion, was being paid for by hospitality taxes. The second phase, called RIDE II, was being paid for through a one-cent

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

approved by Horry County voters November 7, 2006.Tritten, Travis, "Horry readies RIDE 2: Finances, schedule must be settled," ''The Sun News'', December 17, 2006.Tritten, Travis, "RIDE 2 moves to review after 2nd phase released," ''The Sun News'', April 26, 2006. RIDE III was being planned as of 2013 and voters approved a penny tax in 2016.

RIDE

In 1996, South Carolina voters turned down a one-cent sales tax for roads, and Buck Limehouse, the state's first DOT Commission chairman, started the State Infrastructure Bank. Commission member Gary Loftus became the first chairman of RIDE, which came up with the list of Horry County projects to use money from the bank. In the years 1995 through 2002, the state completed 27 years worth of road projects at a cost of $5 billion, including the RIDE projects. The Fantasy Harbour Bridge, opened in July 2009, was the last RIDE project. A 2.5 percent accommodations tax, and a 1.5 percent prepared foods tax, funds projects in the first phase of RIDE. Three-fifths of the tax went to RIDE projects, with the remainder for

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensure ...

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

relating to

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. On May 2, 2017, the Horry County Council voted to continue collecting the 1.5 percent hospitality fee first passed in 1996 and scheduled to end in 2019. Supporters of keeping the fee wanted to use revenues for

Interstate 73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, located within the US state of North Carolina. Currently, there is one continuous section of I-73, totaling , first traversing the U.S. Route 220 (US 220) freeway from ...

. On November 7, 2011, Myrtle Beach city council member Wayne Gray asked area elected officials to consider using

RIDE Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...

funds to pay for a portion of

I-73 Interstate 73 (I-73) is a north–south Interstate Highway, located within the US state of North Carolina. Currently, there is one continuous section of I-73, totaling , first traversing the U.S. Route 220 (US 220) freeway from ...

. One possibility was to continue the RIDE I tax past 2023.

RIDE II

The Horry County Council created the RIDE II Committee on April 17, 2001. It included 11 voting members plus the chairman of the S.C. DOT. The committee's purpose is to advise the county and state of road needs, study funding methods, and review projects under construction. The original list of projects included the northern section of Carolina Bays Parkway but did not provide funding for the southern section. The first list for RIDE 2 released in April 2006, included 10 projects. After the approval of a one-cent sales tax on November 7, 2006, the list included 15 projects totalling $425 million. The biggest of these were an interchange on

U.S. Highway 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Co ...

next to the former

Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Early history On 16 October 1939, Myrtle Beach Town Council resolved that the community "is in dire need of a modern municipal airport". The ...

, the widening of S.C. 707, and a bypass for Aynor. Also included was the paving of

International Drive International Drive, commonly known as I-Drive, is a major thoroughfare in Orlando, Florida, United States, and is the city's main tourist strip. I-Drive is located several miles southwest of proper Downtown Orlando in the southernmost limits ...

from

to S.C. 90, providing an alternate route to

Carolina Forest Carolina Forest is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 23,342. It is located west of Myrtle Beach and east of Conway in an area plan ...

. The One-Cent Capital Projects Sales Tax began on May 1, 2007 intended to last up to seven years, generating $425,307,500; if the tax produced that amount before the seven years end, it was to be dropped. Nine of 15 RIDE II projects were under way or finished as a

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

was held November 6, 2013 for the final section of Carolina Bays Parkway and the S.C. 707 widening. Collection of the tax ended April 30, 2014, but RIDE III was already being planned.

RIDE III

In March 2016, the RIDE III Sales Tax Commission completed a list of 20 projects to be funded by another one-cent tax. The projects on the list totalled $592 million. The Horry County Council voted June 8 to let voters decide on the sales tax in November 2016, which they did. Collection of the tax began May 1, 2017, and surplus funds from RIDE II would also be used.

RIDE IV

RIDE IV was outlined in a county budget retreat in December 2021. At that time, it was expected projects would be selected by 2024, and voters would have to approve a one-cent sales tax in November 2024, to be collected from 2025 to 2032.

References

{{reflist Roads in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina