Interstate 85 in South Carolina

Interstate 85
I-85 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by SCDOT
Length	106.28 mi[1][2] (171.04 km)
Existed	1959–present
Major junctions
South end	I-85 at Georgia state line
Major intersections	I-185 near Greenville I-385 in Greenville I-85 BL near Spartanburg I-26 in Spartanburg I-585 / US 176 in Spartanburg
North end	I-85 at North Carolina state line
Location
Counties	Oconee, Anderson, Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future South Carolina State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← SC 83 → SC 86

In the U.S. state of South Carolina, Interstate 85 (I-85) 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[]

Interstate 85 enters South Carolina along the Vandiver Bridge, from Georgia, crossing over Tugaloo River/Lake Hartwell.^[3] It is immediately followed by exit 1, where the Welcome Center and the start of the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway (SC 11) are located. For the next 19 miles (31 km), Interstate 85 continues along the north shores of Lake Hartwell, crossing over some parts of it. At the US 76/SC 28 interchange (exit 19), the highway widens to six lanes. Continuing northeast, US 29 joins Interstate 85 (exit 34), near Piedmont, as they run concurrently until after they cross the Saluda River.

Greenville to Spartanburg[]

Interstate 85 bypasses Greenville to the south, but provides a link into the city via spur routes Interstates 185 and 385. US 29 splits from Interstate 85 and joins Interstate 185 toward downtown Greenville.

Two key Upstate businesses can be seen from this portion of the interstate. One is Michelin Tires's North American headquarters and the other is the BMW plant, located in Greer. Interstate 85 also passes Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (exit 57), which serves the Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area.

Spartanburg to North Carolina state line[]

Near Spartanburg, Interstate 85 takes a northern bypass of the city with a higher speed limit of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h), while an older alignment designated as Interstate 85 Business Freeway Loop continues along a more direct path at a lower speed limit of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h).^[4] Along the bypass routing, Interstate 85 connects with Interstate 26 (exit 70) and indirectly connects with Interstate 585, via US 176 (exit 72).

At mile marker 79, Interstate 85 narrows back down to four-lanes. The remaining 27 miles (43 km) is the oldest section, which features a few low height bridges such as a 15-foot (4.6 m) high railroad bridge originally used by the Clinchfield Railroad (now the CSX Blue Ridge Subdivision) east of Exit 80, and intriguing exit/entrance ramps. At mile marker 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 mile marker 95, an old plantation cemetery is located on a knoll in the median of Interstate 85; more visible to see on southbound lanes.^[5] A 23-foot-6-inch (7.16 m) high decrepit railroad bridge can be found in the vicinity of Blacksburg between Exits 100 and 102. At mile marker 103 is the southbound welcome center. 3.4 miles (5.5 km) later, Interstate 85 enters North Carolina.^[6]

Services[]

The Oconee County Welcome Center is shared with the frontage road at northbound Exit 1.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) 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 collective-distributor road for exit 1 (northbound), and around mile marker 103 (southbound); rest areas are located at mile markers 17 (northbound) and 24 (southbound). Common at all locations are public restrooms, public telephones, vending machines, picnic area and barbecue grills.^[7]

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) and State Transport Police (STP) operate and maintain one truck inspection/weigh station, located northbound at mile marker 9 in Fair Play.^[8] The location utilizes weigh-in-motion that does not require commercial motor vehicles to leave the freeway to be weighed.

History[]

Michelin North American headquarters near Greenville at Exit #54 in 2008

Established in 1959, Interstate 85 originally ran along the newly widened four-lane section of US 29, from Fort Prince Boulevard (SC 129, exit 68) to the North Carolina state line. Construction also started around that time extending Interstate 85 from Fort Prince Boulevard to Interstate 185, south of Greenville. In 1961, construction started on another section, from Georgia state line to US 29, near Piedmont. In 1962, US 29 was removed from the entire existing section of Interstate 85 at that time.

By 1964, Interstate 85 was extended south from Fort Prince Boulevard to Interstate 185/US 29. Also, smaller sections were open: from the Georgia state line to Road 23 (exit 4) and from SC 24/SC 243 (exit 11) to US 178 (exit 21). By 1967, Interstate 85 was completed in the state.

In 1995, Interstate 85 was moved onto a new six-lane freeway north of its existing route near Spartanburg, from mile markers 69-77. The old alignment became Interstate 85 Business freeway loop. In 1998, exit 46B was added, connecting to Pleasantburg Drive (SC 291).^{[9][unreliable source]}

Being a four-lane freeway since inception, the first widening to six-lanes (excluding the new freeway near Spartanburg) was completed in 1998, from US 276 to Interstate 385. By end of 2003, Interstate 85 was widened to 6-lanes from US 76/SC 28 (exit 19) north to US 221 (exit 78).

Exit list[]

County	Location	mi[2]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Tugaloo River / Lake Hartwell		0.00	0.00		I-85 south (SR 403) – Atlanta	Continuation into Georgia
				S. Earnest Vandiver Bridge; Georgia–South Carolina state line
Oconee	​	0.19	0.31	1	SC 11 north (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway) – Walhalla	Northbound exit includes South Carolina Welcome Center; southern terminus of SC 11
	Fair Play	2.29	3.69	2	SC 59 north – Fair Play, Seneca
Anderson		4.03	6.49	4	To SC 243 / Road 23 – Fair Play
	​	11.17	17.98	11	SC 24 / SC 243 west – Anderson, Townville	Eastern terminus of SC 243
	​	13.66	21.98	14	SC 187 – Pendleton, Clemson
	​	19.42	31.25	19	US 76 / SC 28 – Clemson, Anderson	Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west)
	​	20.64	33.22	21	US 178 – Anderson, Liberty
	​	27.14	43.68	27	SC 81 – Anderson
	​	31.78	51.14	32	SC 8 – Pelzer, Belton
	​	34.17	54.99	34	US 29 south – Williamston, Anderson	South end of US 29 overlap; Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Piedmont	35.20	56.65	35	SC 86 – Piedmont, Easley
	Powdersville	38.93	62.65	39	River Road – Piedmont
		40.19	64.68	40	SC 153 – Easley
Greenville	​	41.88	67.40	42	I-185 / US 29 north – Greenville, Columbia	North end of US 29 overlap; south I-185 toll road
	Greenville	42.75	68.80	44A	SC 20 (Piedmont Highway)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		43.21	69.54	44B	US 25 (White Horse Road)
		45.33	72.95	46A	Augusta Road
		45.53	73.27	46B	SC 291 (Pleasantburg Drive)
		46.01	74.05	46C	Mauldin Road
		48.17	77.52	48	US 276 – Mauldin, Greenville	Signed as exits 48A (east) and 48B (west)
		50.37	81.06	51A	SC 146 (Woodruff Road)
		50.80	81.75	51	I-385 – Columbia, Greenville	Signed as exits 51B (south) and 51C (north)
	​	53.68	86.39	54	Pelham Road
Spartanburg	Greer	55.96	90.06	56	SC 14 – Greer, Pelham	Southbound exit combined with exit 57
		56.83	91.46	57	Aviation Drive – GSP International Airport
		57.24	92.12	58	Brockman McClimon Road
		59.92	96.43	60	SC 101 – Woodruff, Greer
	​	63.32	101.90	63	SC 290 – Moore, Duncan
	​	65.89	106.04	66	US 29 – Spartanburg, Wellford, Lyman
	​	67.89	109.26	68	SC 129 west – Lyman
	​	68.71	110.58	69	I-85 BL north – Spartanburg
	​	70.62	113.65	70	I-26 – Columbia, Asheville
	​	72.48	116.65	72	US 176 to I-585 – Spartanburg, Inman
	Boiling Springs	74.87	120.49	75	SC 9 – Spartanburg, Boiling Springs
	​	77.35	124.48	77	I-85 BL south – Spartanburg
	​	78.46	126.27	78	US 221 – Chesnee, Spartanburg
	​	79.80	128.43	80	Road 57, Gossett Road
	​	82.11	132.14	82	Frontage Road	Northbound exit only
	​	83.38	134.19	83	SC 110 – Cowpens, Chesnee
Cherokee	​	86.58	139.34	87	Road 39, Green River Road
	Gaffney	89.76	144.45	90	SC 105 south – Gaffney
		92.18	148.35	92	SC 11 (Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway) to SC 150 – Gaffney, Chesnee
		94.75	152.49	95	SC 18 to SC 150 / Pleasant School Road – Gaffney, Boiling Springs	Northbound entrance at exit 96
	​	96.10	154.66	96	SC 18 – Shelby
	​	98.04	157.78	98	Frontage Road	Northbound exit only
	​	99.33	159.86	100	Blacksburg Highway
	Blacksburg	101.97	164.10	102	SC 5 south / SC 198 east – Blacksburg, Rock Hill	Northern terminus of SC 5; western terminus of SC 198
	​	103.95	167.29	104	Road 99, Tribal Road
	​	105.67	170.06	106	US 29 – Blacksburg, Grover
	​	106.28	171.04		I-85 north – Charlotte	Continuation into North Carolina
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Auxiliary routes[]

	Interstate	City	Type	Notes
	Interstate 85 Business	Spartanburg	Business loop	Freeway grade throughout the route.
	Interstate 185	Greenville	Spur	Enters into Greenville from the southwest, between I-85 and I-385 is toll road
	Interstate 385	Greenville	Spur	Enters into Greenville from the east, connects I-85 with I-26 towards Columbia
	Interstate 585	Spartanburg	Spur	Enters into Spartanburg from the northwest, via Interstate 85 Business; it does not connect directly to I-85

See also[]

•  United States portal
•  U.S. roads portal

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

• Media related to Interstate 85 in South Carolina at Wikimedia Commons

Interstate 85
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