Interstate 20 in South Carolina

Interstate 20
J. Strom Thurmond Freeway
Route information
Maintained by SCDOT
Length:	141.51 mi[1] (227.74 km)
Existed:	1964 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-20 at Georgia state line
	I-520 in North Augusta I-26 / US 76 in Columbia I-77 in Columbia I-95 near Florence
East end:	I-20 Bus. in Florence
Location
Counties:	Aiken, Lexington, Richland, Kershaw, Lee, Darlington, Florence
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Business South Carolina Highways Interstates U.S. State Scenic ← SC 20 US 21 →

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 [edit]

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 capital 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.

History [edit]

Approaching the eastern end of I-20 on I-95

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (May 2013)

Proposed Extension of Interstate 20 [edit]

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.^[2]

Auxiliary routes in South Carolina [edit]

	Interstate	City	Type	Notes
	Interstate 20 Business	Florence	Business spur	Boulevard grade throughout
	Interstate 520	North Augusta and Augusta, Georgia	Partial beltway	Originally a spur, it is split between Georiga and South Carolina

Exit list [edit]

County	Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Aiken	North Augusta	0.00	0.00		I-20 west – Atlanta	Continuation into Georgia
				1	SC 230 – North Augusta, Colliers
				5	US 25 / SC 121 – Edgefield, Johnston
				6	I-520 west – North Augusta, Augusta
				11	Bettis Academy Road – Graniteville
	Aiken			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-Leesville
				44	Road 34 – Gilbert
				51	Longs Pond Road
	Lexington			55	SC 6 – Red Bank, Lexington	Signed as exits 55A (east) and 55B (west) westbound
				58	US 1 – Lexington, West Columbia	Access to the Columbia Airport.
				61	US 378 – West Columbia, Lexington
Richland	Columbia			63	Bush River Road
				64	I-26 / US 76 – Spartanburg, Charleston	Signed as exits 64A (east) and 64B (west)
				65	US 176 (Broad River Rd.) – Irmo, Columbia
				68	SC 215 (Monticello Rd.) – Jenkinsville
				70	US 321 (Fairfield Rd.) – Winnsboro, Columbia
				71	US 21 (N. Main St.) – Blythewood, West Columbia
				72	SC 555 (Farrow Rd.)
				73	SC 277 – Columbia, Charleswood	Signed as exits 73A (south) and 73B (north); 73B signed as "To I-77 North"
				74	US 1 (Two Notch Rd.) – Dentsville, Elgin
				76	I-77 – Charleston, Charlotte	Westbound signed as exit 76A; Eastbound access only to I-77 Southbound
				76	Alpine Road	I-77 Northbound access from I-20 Eastbound; Westbound signed as exit 76B
				80	Clemson Road
				82	Spears Creek Church Road – Pontiac
Kershaw				87	White Pond Road – Elgin
	Camden			92	US 601 – Lugoff, Camden, Eastover
				98	US 521 – Camden, Sumter, Rembert
				101	Road 329 – Antioch
Lee				108	Jamestown Road – Manville, Antioch
	Bishopville			116	US 15 – Sumter, Bishopville, Hartsville
				120	SC 341 – Bishopville, Lynchburg, Elliott
				123	Road 22 – Lamar, Ashland	Access to the Lee State Park.
Darlington				131	US 401 to SC 403 – Timmonsville, Darlington, Hartsville, Sumter
				137	SC 340 – Darlington, Timmonsville
Florence	Florence			141	I-95 – Manning, Dillon	Signed as exits 141A (north) and 141B (south)
		141.51	227.74		I-20 Bus. east – Florence	Continuation beyond I-95
Concurrency terminus       Closed/former       HOV only       Incomplete access       Tolled/ETC       Unopened

Interstate 20 Business [edit]

Interstate 20 Business (BS 20) is a 2.0-mile (3.2 km) four-lane boulevard grade business spur of I-20 along David H. McLeod Boulevard, between Interstate 95 and Palmetto Street (US 76). Construction began by 1969, completed in 1970, at has remained unchanged since inception.

Junction list [edit]

The entire route is in Florence, Florence County.

Mile[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.00	0.00	I-20 west / I-95 – Columbia, Fayetteville, Savannah	Continuation as I-20
2.00	3.22	US 76 (Palmetto Street) – Myrtle Beach, Timmonsville	To Francis Marion University
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also [edit]

• South Carolina portal
• U.S. Roads portal

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Route map: Google / Bing

• Media related to Interstate 20 in South Carolina at Wikimedia Commons
• Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page: I-20
• South Carolina @ Southeast Roads.com - Interstate 20
• I-20 in NC discussion on I-74 in North Carolina Progress Page, accessed October 4, 2005.

Interstate 20
Previous state: Georgia	South Carolina	Next state: Terminus

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