Interstate 20 in South Carolina

Interstate 20 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
J. Storm Thurmond Freeway Maintained by South Carolina Department of Transportation
Length:	141 mi[citation needed] (227 km)
West end:	I-20 at Georgia state line
Major junctions:	I-520 / US 25 / SC 121 / SC 230 in North Augusta US 178 in Steedman SC 19 in Aiken US 1 near Lexington I-26 / US 76 near Columbia SC 277 near Columbia I-77 in Arcadia Lakes US 1 in Dentsville US 601 near Lugoff US 521 in Camden US 15 in Bishopville US 401 near Lamar
East end:	I-95 / I-20 Bus. near Florence
South Carolina highways < SC 19 SC 20 >

Interstate 20 is a major thoroughfare cutting across the state of South Carolina, linking the state with important transportation and business hubs to the north, west and south, including Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina (via Interstate 77), Savannah, Georgia (via Interstate 95) and Washington, D.C. (via Interstate 95).

Route description

Interstate 20 enters the Palmetto State after crossing the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia. Known as the J. Strom Thurmond Freeway, the highway heads northeastward, bypassing Aiken and Lexington before reaching the state capitol of Columbia. It was constructed in various stages beginning in late 1963, with the final section between SC-340 and the Business Spur opening in August 1975.

At Columbia, I-20 crosses the Saluda and Broad rivers and travels through the northern part of the city and turns eastward, bypassing Fort Jackson and Camden before reaching Florence. It is at Florence where I-20 sees its eastern terminus at Interstate 95. However, for about two miles (3 km), the highway continues to downtown Florence as Business Spur 20.

Proposed Extension of Interstate 20

Approaching the Eastern Terminus of Interstate South Carolina 20 on Interstate South Carolina 95

In 2003, The North Carolina Department of Transportation proposed extending I-20 eastward from Florence to Wilmington at the behest of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and his 'Strategic Transportation Plan' for the southeast portion of the state. The proposed route would follow U.S. 76 east from Florence to Whiteville, North Carolina, then parallel U.S. 74/U.S. 76 into Wilmington. Part of this route is already designated the future Interstate 74. As part of the 2005 SAFETEA-LU transportation legislation, North Carolina received $5 million for a feasibility study for this extension.

While this extension has considerable support among towns in southeastern North Carolina, the South Carolina DOT has stated that they have no interest in upgrading their portion of U.S. 76 to an interstate. This is likely due, in no small part, to encourage eastbound vacationers to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina rather than Wilmington and that they are concentrating their efforts on plans to build Interstate 73 that will terminate near Myrtle Beach. Officials in Wilmington in the Fall of 2009 responded with another idea, route I-20 north along I-95 to I-74 and then be routed or co-routed with I-74/US 74 to Wilmington. State and federal officials have not officially responded to this proposal.^[1]

Intersections with other Interstates

• 
  Future Interstate 73 in Marion
• Interstate 95 in Florence
• Interstate 77 and Interstate 26 in Columbia
• Interstate 520 near N. Augusta

Auxiliary routes in South Carolina

	Interstate	City	Type	Notes
	Business Spur 20	Florence	Business Spur	Decomissioned soon
	Interstate 520	N. Augusta	Beltway	Under construction

Exit list

County	Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Aiken	North Augusta	1	SC 230 – North Augusta
		5	US 25 / SC 121 – Edgefield, Johnston, North Augusta, Augusta
		6	I-20 – North Augusta, Augusta	Palmetto Parkway
		11	Bettis Academy Road – Graniteville
		18	SC 19 – Aiken, Johnston, Edgefield
		22	US 1 – Aiken, Ridge Spring
		29	Wire Road
		33	SC 39 – Wagener, Monetta, Ridge Spring
Lexington		39	US 178 – Pelion, Batesburg, Wagener
		44	Road 34 – Gilbert, Leesville
		51	Longs Pond Road – Gilbert
		55	SC 6 – Swansea, Lexington, Pelion	Signed as exits 55A (east) and 55B (west) westbound
		58	US 1 – West Columbia, Lexington
		61	US 378 – West Columbia, Lexington
		63	Bush River Road
		64	I-26 / US 76 – Columbia, Orangeburg, Newberry	Signed as exits 64A (east) and 64B (west)
Richland
		65	US 176 (Broad River Road)
	Columbia	68	SC 215 (Monticello Road)
		70	US 321 (Fairfield Road) – Winnsboro
		71	US 21 (North Main Street)
		72	SC 555 (Farrow Road)
		73A	SC 277 south – Columbia
		73B	SC 277 north to I-77 north – Charlotte	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		74	US 1 (Two Notch Road) – Dentsville, Columbia, Elgin, Arcadia Lakes	To Sesquicentennial State Park
		76A	I-77 – Fort Jackson, Forest Acres, Cayce, Winnsboro	Signed as exit 76 eastbound
		76B	Alpine Road	Signed as exit 76 eastbound
		80	Clemson Road
		82	Spears Creek Church Road – Pontiac
Kershaw		87	White Pond Road – Elgin
		92	US 601 – Lugoff, Camden, Eastover
		98	US 521 – Camden, Sumter, Rembert	To Shaw Air Force Base Camden Military Academy & Revolutionary War Park.
		101	Road 329
Lee		108	Jamestown Road – Manville
		116	US 15 – Sumter, Bishopville, Hartsville, Manville
		120	SC 341 – Bishopville, Lynchburg, Elliott
		123	Road 22 – Lamar, Ashland, Lee State Park
Darlington		131	US 401 to SC 403 – Timmonsville, Darlington, Hartsville, Sumter
		137	SC 340 – Timmonsville, Darlington
Florence		141	I-95 – Manning, Dillon NC State	Signed as exits 141A (north) and 141B (south);Eastern terminus of I-20

See also

U.S. Roads Portal

• List of Interstate Highways
• List of numbered highways in South Carolina

References

• I-20 in NC discussion on I-74 in North Carolina Progress Page, accessed October 4, 2005.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 20 in South Carolina

• South Carolina @ Southeast Roads.com - Interstate 20

Interstate 20
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