(AP) -- The Carolina Bays Parkway bypassing Myrtle Beach is not expected to be completed until 2015.
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports the parkway, state Highway 31, parallels U.S. 17 through Horry County along the state's north coast.
The southern end of the road has never been completed and work on that section is now not expected to start until next summer.
The work was delayed because changes in the highway alignment required new permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The work will cost as much as $217 million with funds coming from the federal stimulus, a federal earmark and the State Infrastructure Bank.
Once construction starts, it will take three years to finish. Myrtle Beach is the heart of the state's $14 billion tourism industry.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
