government later that year. Phase I Phase I consists of the highway from US 501 to SC 9, a length of . In October 1999, a team was created by the South Carolina Department of Transportation named Palmetto Transportation Constructors to help with all aspects of the construction process of the first phase of the Carolina Bays Parkway. Included were nine firms, including Flatiron Structures Company of Longmont, Colorado, who were the primary construction firm. The road would tentatively be completed in 30 months at a cost of $232 million. Construction commenced in December 1999, two months behind schedule as permits were being issued. The contract was signed on March 10, 2000, with a completion date of July 24, 2003. Most of the construction work was completed by November 2002. Although the road was meant to open in July of that year, delays came when constructing the overpass at Water Tower Road, requiring the dirt road to be relocated to the overpass. The interchange with Robert Grissom Parkway was to be opened as a partial interchange, with further study to be done on converting it into a full interchange with International Drive to connect to Carolina Forest. Before the official opening, many were using the road as an unofficial bypass around the highways in Myrtle Beach and as a faster route to deliver and remove materials for subdivisions in Carolina Forest. The first phase opened on December 17, 2002. The North Myrtle Beach Connector runs from the Parkway between SC 22 and SC 9 east to Main Street in N. Myrtle Beach. This road, now known as Robert Edge Parkway, opened Sept. 3, 2009. Phase II Phase II was completed in March 2005 and follows a former logging road and a geographic ridge formation. A second bridge was built at the intersection with US 501. Phase III The completion of Phase III was completed and open to traffic November 7, 2019, taking it to SC 707. The third phase had been changed several times due to environmental issues concerning the surrounding area. This will be the future terminus of Interstate 74, as funding cannot allow for the possible extensions to Georgetown or Charleston that had once been planned in the early 1990s. The change in the parkway's route meant more loss of wetlands and streams, though some wetland areas will be preserved. Project manager Mike Barbee said the goal was