Posted on Sat, Sep. 19, 2009 The Sun News All eyes turn to Myrtle Beach boardwalk $2,000 goes to Web cameras so public can watch construction Myrtle Beach is using the Internet to give people a look at construction on the new boardwalk. Two Web cameras are online as of Friday, connected to the city's Web site. Webcam They show viewers the area where the new boardwalk will be, looking south from the 14th Avenue Pier and looking north and south from Plyler Park. "The boardwalk is going to be a major feature; everyone has been talking about it, and we'd like people to be able to look in on it as the construction progresses," city spokesman Mark Kruea said. The $6 million boardwalk will stretch a mile between 14th and First avenues North. Work began last week and is expected to continue through Easter, with the project opening up to locals and visitors in time for the 2010 summer season. From 14th Avenue North to Plyler Park at the termination of Mr. Joe White Avenue, the 8-foot-wide raised boardwalk will meander through the dunes. The picture from the webcam now shows a wide swath of graded sand, but Kruea said the boardwalk will not take up that much space. The area around it will be landscaped and the dunes restored when construction is completed. Each camera cost about $1,000, and Kruea said more will be added as construction moves south. From the Plyler Park cameras, viewers can see a split screen. The left view goes about a block north, and the right looks about a block south. In the center area, the graded sand does reflect the size of the boardwalk, which will be 25 to 50 feet wide, and will adjoin the oceanfront businesses. The southern section, from Seventh Avenue South to First Avenue South, will be a sand-level, 12-foot-wide main walkway with natural landscaping and 8-foot-wide secondary paths through a linear beach park. The average sidewalk is 5 feet wide, so the boardwalk should have plenty of room for all kinds of users, from the handicapped to joggers and families with strollers. |