Public Works

The Department of Public Works maintains all roadway networks and bridges owned by the county, as well as constructing an average of 5 miles of paved road each year. Currently, this includes 1,484 miles of roadways and 72 bridges and box culverts. There are 964 miles of paved roads ranging from arterial roads such as Carolina Forest Boulevard which carries over 24,000 trips per day to local access roads in neighborhoods and rural areas. There are also 520 of miles of unpaved roads which include roads that are improved with various materials such as: marine limestone surfaces, milled asphalt, and natural earth surfaces.

From 1999 to 2019 Horry County has accepted ownership and maintenance, typically through land development, of approximately 17.5 miles, on average, of new roads each year. Also, unpaved roads are being improved and paved through the local road plan, CTC, and the local option sales tax road plan known as RIDE I, II, & III. Upon the completion of RIDE III, these plans will have contributed to paving 350 miles of existing unpaved roads between 1998 and 2025, for a total of 708 roads.

The Department of Public Works also maintains 12.8 miles of beach in the unincorporated areas of Horry County as well as 22 public beach accesses. The beach crews clean accesses and rake the sand at night during the peak season. They are also responsible for free beach wheelchair rentals for the public

Roadside Litter is also a function of Public Works. They are funded through the Accommodations Tax and are responsible for picking up litter on many state and county roadways within Horry County. Last year they picked up ~12,719 bags of litter with 2,176 bags being recyclables.