SC's interstates in sorry shape

[upstate29650]

As a whole, our interstates are in pretty bad shape. What are some of the worst spots? Here are my thoughts:

1. I-95 South of I-26. Pothole city, including a very deep one just outside of Ridgeland in the nortbound lanes that extends across both lanes!

2. The I-95/I-26 exit (95 north exiting onto 26 west), absolutely saturated with potholes & cracked pavement, not to mention the curve being WAY too tight!

3. I-385 from I-26 to Simpsonville. Again, loads of potholes.

What areas would you nominate?

[monsoon]

I-20 from Florence to Columbia isn't the prettiest road in the state.

[Charleston native]

I concur with you, metro, on that one. I travel that section quite frequently on the way to my wife's hometown of Bennettsville, and I-20 is in definite need of repair.

Also, upstate, I agree about your assessments of I-95. I just traveled the highway for some vacation time in Florida, and this highway is rough and terrible. I tell you guys, as I was driving in Florida, I was amazed with at how much nicer the highways were. This state needs to seriously upgrade its highways.

[sonofaque86]

I-20 is all rusty and has those lines or cracks in it the whole time..I mean is that the oldest interstate in SC or something?

[vicupstate]

The interstates are in terrible shape, specifically the ones mentioned above. I-95 also needs widening badly. Between Walterboro and the GA state line is a bottleneck. It added at least an hour to my trip when I was on it on Dec. 26th. That was the worst I had seen it, but it is always bad. I have never seen a wreck be the cause of the problem either.

The philosophy of our legislature is that taxes cannot be raised for any reason. The gas tax hasn't been raised since '87. Cars are more fuel efficient generally, so less gas gets purchased per mile. Thus revenues are not keeping pace with the need or rising expense of road maintenance. So be be sure you save the pennies that you saved at the gas pump, to pay for the additional alignments that you will need throughout the year.

[Charleston native]

The interstates are in terrible shape, specifically the ones mentioned above. I-95 also needs widening badly. Between Walterboro and the GA state line is a bottleneck. It added at least an hour to my trip when I was on it on Dec. 26th. That was the worst I had seen it, but it is always bad. I have never seen a wreck be the cause of the problem either.

The philosophy of our legislature is that taxes cannot be raised for any reason. The gas tax hasn't been raised since '87. Cars are more fuel efficient generally, so less gas gets purchased per mile. Thus revenues are not keeping pace with the need or rising expense of road maintenance. So be be sure you save the pennies that you saved at the gas pump, to pay for the additional alignments that you will need throughout the year.

Don't forget, most of our gas taxes do not go to this state, which is maddening to say the least! SC is known as a "donating" state where our gas taxes are donated to GA and NC, a stupid deal that can be chalked up to the geniuses of Thurmond and Hollings.

[Mr.Marc]

Don't forget, most of our gas taxes do not go to this state, which is maddening to say the least! SC is known as a "donating" state where our gas taxes are donated to GA and NC, a stupid deal that can be chalked up to the geniuses of Thurmond and Hollings.

I don't understand; why would SC donate its gas taxes to its neighboring states?

[Charleston native]

^ It was part of a collaborative political deal from our Senators. I don't know all the details, but I have read that part of the deal involved allocating more military bases to SC instead of GA and NC. It also involved more highway projects, which attributes to why SC has the most extensive interstate system in the Southeast. Just about every interstate is accessible in 1 hour or less throughout any part of the state, and the gas tax donation enabled more of SC pork to be approved.

[vicupstate]

Don't forget, most of our gas taxes do not go to this state, which is maddening to say the least! SC is known as a "donating" state where our gas taxes are donated to GA and NC, a stupid deal that can be chalked up to the geniuses of Thurmond and Hollings.

I was referring to state levied Gas Taxes, not Federal Gas taxes. The Feds set their rate and it is the same nationwide. How those Federal funds are distributed is another matter, and politics is involved. State gas taxes are levied, collected and spent 100% by the respective state government.

[jaxpalmer]

someone should email this thread to scdot, lol!

[Greenville]

What's interesting is that, at least around Greenville, the roads have been in good condition from a surface standpoint. Traveling north on I-85, you always knew when you crossed the state line into NC because the roads got rough and bumpy. For the most part, I-85 through NC is horrible in terms of smoothness. Then, when you eventually crossed into Virginia, the road got very smooth again.

I'm sorry to hear about the poor road quality in other parts of the state. I recently drove through the I-95 interchange with I-26, and definitely agree that there are some rough areas.

[sonofaque86]

That's how it is in Rock Hill...It's nice and newly paved...As soon as you hit NC into Charlotte I-77 goes down hill

[krazeeboi]

^Exactly, sonofaque86. Not only that, but there are actually more lanes from Rock Hill to the state line. I-77 in Rock Hill is great.

Of course, as has been stated, the I-95/I-26 interchange has GOT to be the absolute worst. But I rarely ever venture down that way. I think I-26 from Columbia to Charleston is a pretty smooth ride though.

[Jerseyman4]

I-95 is in the most "sorry shape" in the state overall. Florence gets high marks for its reconstruction and additional lanes

[myrtlesquare]

Coming from the state that had the nation's third-largest highway/interstate system, SC needs to improve their interstates. I give credit to SC for placing the interstates that they have in logical places (except for the Myrtle Beach I-20 extension). Illinois had too many interstates and was always in a defecit when it came time to pay for them...

If money was a problem in SC, could having tollways improve the situation?

[Greenville]

Tollways are an option that I would be willing to consider, provided that the money would stay in SC and be used only for things agreed upon ahead of time. I would also be interested in seeing some projections as to what kind of revenues would be anticipated based on traffic volume in a given area.

Many residents in the South are traditionally against tolls, which is understandable since most people are unaccustomed to paying them. There would probably be a huge uproar over the idea, especially if the tolls would be on major routes like I-85 or I-26. In time, however, people would get used to the idea...much like the residents of the Northeast already are.

[Charleston native]

Coming from the state that had the nation's third-largest highway/interstate system, SC needs to improve their interstates. I give credit to SC for placing the interstates that they have in logical places (except for the Myrtle Beach I-20 extension). Illinois had too many interstates and was always in a defecit when it came time to pay for them...

If money was a problem in SC, could having tollways improve the situation?

Another illogical location for an interstate in SC was I-95 bypassing Chas and MB, though it probably helps Florence, particularly.

The fact is money is not necessarily the problem, but it's proper budgeting. I once talked to a SCDOT official, and he told me how SC routinely wins the award for spending the least amount of money on its roads and highways. Yes, they actually have a national award for it.

Tollways are taboo here in SC, but if you provide an ironclad provision for removal of tolls once a highway project was completed, it might be done. Jax did that very thing for its I-95 project...the tolls were removed after 10 years. What I do like about tolls is that it taxes every user of the highway, travelers and commuters. Residents and non-residents. The major thing I hate about them is that it stops traffic flow.

[jfl25]

I hate taxes, but sometimes you have to bite the bullet and pay.This states interstates are horrible.They are all over worked,and in need of serios upgrades and repairs. The longer you go without maintenance the more expencive it is to correct when the road has to be replaced.

[vicupstate]

The fact is money is not necessarily the problem, but it's proper budgeting. I once talked to a SCDOT official, and he told me how SC routinely wins the award for spending the least amount of money on its roads and highways. Yes, they actually have a national award for it.

Tollways are taboo here in SC, but if you provide an ironclad provision for removal of tolls once a highway project was completed, it might be done. Jax did that very thing for its I-95 project...the tolls were removed after 10 years. What I do like about tolls is that it taxes every user of the highway, travelers and commuters. Residents and non-residents. The major thing I hate about them is that it stops traffic flow.

Spending the least amount on roads and highways is NOT something to be proud of, and is cause and effect of why the interstates are in such poor condition. I would only support tolls to pay for new roads, not to maintain existing ones. Why put everyone through the hassle of stopping, fishing around for change, causing additional pollution and increased gas consumption (by idling at the booths), putting more employees on the state payroll (booth workers) when all you have to do is raise the gas tax and accomplish the same thing (raise money), with zero no additional expense?

Interstate 73 will be partially financed with a toll, which is logical because the users would be paying for it, and they are saving money because the interstate (even with toll stops) would be quicker than the existing highways. Interstates and highways statewide need maintenace and widening, increasing the gas tax statewide would hit all those that benefit without the negatives listed above involved with tolls.

As for Jacksonville, tolls were put in place on four bridges crossing the St. Johns River, including I-95. This was as each one was built between the mid 1950's and late 1960's. Butler Blvd., which connects I-95 to Jax Beach was also tolled when it opened in the '80s. These tolls paid for the respective bridges as well as numerous OTHER highway projects.

As Jax grew, the tolls became bottlenecks and were the bane of residents and passing tourists alike. They also increased pollution. In 1988, Jacksonville voters choose to eliminate all the toll booths and replace the revenue with a 1/2 cent sales tax increase. In 1989, the toll booths were removed, 36 years after the first toll booth went up.

[Spartan]

The toll roads build in SC are jokes. I read something that said you have to value your time at $500 per hour to drive the Southern Connector in Greenville. Its not really that much of a time daver either unless you live in that part of Greenville County.

I-95 is definately the worst interstate. I voe I-26 as the best. I drove the length of it this past week, and its a smooth ride the whole way

[krazeeboi]

I know that I-77 is a smooth ride the whole way as well. At one point, shortly after entering Fairfield County from Richland County, there was about a 2- or 3-mile stretch of potholes, but that got fixed.

[idunno]

What I do like about tolls is that it taxes every user of the highway, travelers and commuters. Residents and non-residents. The major thing I hate about them is that it stops traffic flow.

As Jax grew, the tolls became bottlenecks and were the bane of residents and passing tourists alike. They also increased pollution. In 1988, Jacksonville voters choose to eliminate all the toll booths and replace the revenue with a 1/2 cent sales tax increase. In 1989, the toll booths were removed, 36 years after the first toll booth went up.

Tolls don't necessarily have to mean bottlenecks for everyone. In Texas, all our toll roads have lanes where you can zip through toll booths using a transponder that's linked to a credit card account or bank account. That really helps with traffic flow on our tollways.

[vicupstate]

The toll roads build in SC are jokes. I read something that said you have to value your time at $500 per hour to drive the Southern Connector in Greenville. Its not really that much of a time daver either unless you live in that part of Greenville County.

I-95 is definately the worst interstate. I voe I-26 as the best. I drove the length of it this past week, and its a smooth ride the whole way

The Southern Connector is the biggest, brainless, boondoggle in SCDOT history. BTW, Have the investors defaulted yet? All one has to do is look at a map of it, to see why I have referred to this road as "The Waste of Money Connector" ever since it was proposed.

I will say one thing for our normally brain-dead legislature, at least they had sense enough not to bail out the investors, at least not YET.

There is a toll road on Hilton Head that DOES save time and is quite successful. That is a situation where I support toll roads (it was a new road that created a major shortcut across the island).

I read over the weekend that NC and VA are considering putting a $5 toll on I-95 at the state border and splitting the revenue.

[Spartan]

The idea behind the Southern Connector is that it would open up SW Greenville to development, thus creating more traffic on itself. Obviously that has not happened. There may, however, be a use for it in the furture, once development starts moving in that direction.

[GvilleSC]

The idea behind the Southern Connector is that it would open up SW Greenville to development, thus creating more traffic on itself. Obviously that has not happened. There may, however, be a use for it in the furture, once development starts moving in that direction.

I agree, and if Arcadia(?) takes off, then it could be very soon that this area really develops. I think it was just ahead of its time.

If any road in SC should be a toll road, it should be the cooper river bridge. No joke. It's a heavily used route and maybe all that money that spent wouldn't seem so painful if its paying for itself down the road...