Infrastructure improvements beneath Hemingway Chapel Road will help lift the burden of flooding from those who live and travel along the busy roadway.

The project, which is wrapping up in the Conway area, was designed to significantly increase drainage capacity in the area, helping reduce the risk of future flooding.

The water that flows below Hemingway Chapel road comes from a tributary of Crabtree Swamp, moves toward Crabtree Swamp, through the City of Conway and to the Waccamaw River.  

The area was identified as an area of need several years ago following reports of flooding and observations of flooding by Horry County Stormwater. A recent watershed study helped zero in on the root of the problem and necessary improvements.

“As part of that study, it identified this road crossing as a pinch point or a choke point that was attenuating some water upstream,” Brandon Wagner, Horry County Stormwater manager explained.

Through the planning process, Horry County Stormwater determined it was best to replace a single 48-inch pipe with three 48-inch pipes and one 36-inch pipe to improve the drainage capacity under Hemingway Chapel Road.

“This watershed has about 350 cubic feet per second that drains to this location, but the existing 48-inch pipe could only handle about 110 cubic feet per second,” Wagner said. “So, we needed to drastically increase the capacity to prevent upstream flooding.”

As part of the watershed study and analysis, engineers also needed to ensure the proposed changes didn’t cause flooding in other areas.

“For this project, we're significantly reducing the flooding elevations upstream. But any impacts downstream are very nominal and not does not impact any properties,” Wagner added.

While completing infrastructure improvements like these, it’s also critical to take proper precautions to limit environmental impacts during construction.

The contractor implemented sediment and erosion control best management practices, including silt fencing, turbidity curtains to reduce sediment in the water, dewatering bags for pumping operations and rock check dams.

A significant portion of funding for this project was secured through a grant from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA).

The Hemingway Chapel Road improvements are one of six projects supported by the $4.9 million grant awarded to Horry County. The grant covered approximately 85% of the $300,000 project cost, with Horry County providing the remaining 15%.

Additional projects funded through this grant include:

•    Jones Road, Wampee (currently under construction)
•    57th Place subdivision, Longs (currently under construction)
•    Highway 9, Little River (currently under construction)
•    Kayla Circle, Longs (completed in 2025)
•    Azalea Lakes Boulevard (completed in 2024)

“We're very fortunate to have a talented Community Development team that helps us find and secure, grants for projects like this,” Wagner said.

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