Interstate 85 in South Carolina
Interstate 85 in the U.S. state of South Carolina runs northeast–southwest through Upstate South Carolina. Connecting regionally with Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, it became the first Interstate Highway in South Carolina to have its originally planned mileage completed.
Route description
Georgia state line to Greenville
I-85 enters South Carolina along the Vandiver Bridge from Georgia, crossing over Tugaloo River/Lake Hartwell. It is immediately followed by exit 1, where the welcome center and the start of South Carolina Highway 11 are located. For the next, I-85 continues along the north shores of Lake Hartwell, crossing over some parts of it. At the U.S. Highway 76 /SC 28 interchange, the highway widens to six lanes. Continuing northeast, US 29 joins I-85, near Piedmont, as they run concurrently until after they cross the Saluda River.Greenville to Spartanburg
I-85 bypasses Greenville to the south but provides a link into the city via auxiliary routes I-185 and I-385. US 29 splits from I-85 and joins I-185 toward downtown Greenville.Two key upstate businesses can be seen from this portion of the Interstate. One is Michelin's North American headquarters and the other is the BMW plant, located in Greer. I-85 also passes Greenville–Spartanburg International Airport, which serves the Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson metropolitan area.
Spartanburg to North Carolina state line
Near Spartanburg, I-85 takes a northern bypass of the city with a higher speed limit of, while an older alignment designated as I-85 Business freeway loop continues along a more direct path at a lower speed limit of. Along the bypass routing, I-85 connects with I-26 and indirectly connects with I-585, via US 176.Northeast of exit 80, I-85 dips below a railroad bridge originally used by the Clinchfield Railroad, which also contains a provision for a frontage road along the southbound lane named Dewberry Road. At milemarker 91 in Gaffney, travelers will not be able to miss the Peachoid, a large water tower with its top shaped like a peach, representing one of the state's most important crops. At milemarker 95, an old plantation cemetery is located on a knoll in the median of I-85. A rail-trail bridge can be found in the vicinity of Blacksburg between exits 100 and 102. At milemarker 103 is the southbound welcome center. I-85 enters North Carolina later, after the diamond junction with US 29.
Services
The South Carolina Department of Transportation operates and maintains two welcome centers and five rest areas along I-85. Welcome centers, which have a travel information facility on site, are located at the collector–distributor road for exit 1 and around milemarker 103 ; rest areas are located at milemarkers 17 and 24. Common at all locations are public restrooms, public telephones, vending machines, picnic area, and barbecue grills.The South Carolina Department of Public Safety and State Transport Police operate and maintain one truck inspection/weigh station, located northbound at milemarker 9 in Fair Play. The location utilizes weigh-in-motion that does not require commercial motor vehicles to leave the freeway to be weighed.
History
Established in 1959, I-85 originally ran along the newly widened four-lane section of US 29, from Fort Prince Boulevard to the North Carolina state line. Construction also started around that time extending I-85 from Fort Prince Boulevard to I-185, south of Greenville. In 1961, construction started on another section, from the Georgia state line to US 29, near Piedmont. In 1962, US 29 was removed from the entire existing section of I-85 at that time.By 1964, I-85 was extended south from Fort Prince Boulevard to I-185/US 29. Also, smaller sections were open: from the Georgia state line to Road 23 and from SC 24/SC 243 to US 178. By 1967, I-85 was completed in the state. It was South Carolina's first Interstate Highway fully completed.
In 1995, I-85 was moved onto a new six-lane freeway north of its existing route near Spartanburg, from milemarkers 69–77. The old alignment became the I-85 Bus. freeway loop. In 1998, exit 46B was added, connecting to Pleasantburg Drive.
Being a four-lane freeway since inception, the first widening to six lanes was completed in 1998, from US 276 to I-385. By end of 2003, I-85 was widened to six lanes from US 76/SC 28 north to US 221.
The last original segment between milemarker 79 and the North Carolina state line is in the process of being widened to six lanes, which includes the reconstruction of many interchanges.
As part of this widening project, the previously low railroad bridge originally used by the Clinchfield Railroad east of exit 80, was replaced by a bridge, which also contains provisions for Dewberry Road. The former decrepit railroad bridge in the vicinity of Blacksburg between exits 100 and 102 was replaced by a slightly lower bridge for a future rail-trail.