I-185/Southern Connector

[btoy]

I know they used to, but do they still do that?

Heck Ya They Do!!!1 They did it with in the last monrth to bring a development off Hammett Bridge Rd. in to the city.

They annexed down a sewer line to get to Target in Taylors and did they same to get to the new District 5 Elementary School.

[gregtrob]

I think we should have more tolls, or a much higher gas tax.

I think we should have a more responsible department of transportation and investigate where the money actually goes before anyone attempt to have more tolls or raise the gas tax. (Sorry to drag us off topic SC DOT is not uh shall we see efficient and looks quite crooked to me more so than the usual government branches do)

[g-man430]

Looks like a large, residential development could be in the works for a site across the Southern Connector from the Matrix next to Augusta Road. Look at the third rezoning request on here for more information: http://www.greenvilleplanning.com/land_Dev...r%20Website.pps

[Greenville]

I hate to bump a two year-old thread, but I did not see another Southern Connector discussion thread. Anyway, I drove the entire Southern Connector this weekend and was really disappointed to see it so overgrown. The weeds are a good 2-3 feet high in the median as well as on the side of the road. It felt as if I were driving through an abandoned road. I realize that it isn't the most heavily-traveled road in the Upstate, but it's pathetic to see it neglected so much.

Has anyone else noticed this?

[gman430]

I hate to bump a two year-old thread, but I did not see another Southern Connector discussion thread. Anyway, I drove the entire Southern Connector this weekend and was really disappointed to see it so overgrown. The weeds are a good 2-3 feet high in the median as well as on the side of the road. It felt as if I were driving through an abandoned road. I realize that it isn't the most heavily-traveled road in the Upstate, but it's pathetic to see it neglected so much.

Has anyone else noticed this?

http://www.scdot.org/ArtMan/publish/article_860.shtml It's not a Southern Connector problem. It's state-wide problem.

[Greenville]

http://www.scdot.org/ArtMan/publish/article_860.shtml It's not a Southern Connector problem. It's state-wide problem.

Thanks. That doesn't change the fact that it leaves a bad impression on drivers using the Southern Connector.

[adrockc2]

Thanks. That doesn't change the fact that it leaves a bad impression on drivers using the Southern Connector.

Yeah, I hate it when nature gets all natural on us.

[Sonrise]

Thanks. That doesn't change the fact that it leaves a bad impression on drivers using the Southern Connector.

All three of them? Seriously, this was the biggest boondoggle. Instead of hoping that the "Field of Dreams" effect would occur, i.e. if you build it they will come; a northern loop should have been built from I 85 down past Anderson to I 85 north of Spartanburg, connecting Clemson, Easley, TR, Taylors, Greer, Boiling Springs and Spartanburg; y'know, where people actually live. Oh, well, I hope some day, my wish for I 285 will be built.

[gman430]

Here is an article from the Charlotte Observer on the Southern Connector: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/597/story/758183.html Talk about a waste of money this road has become. I agree with Sonrise in that a northern loop should have been built instead.

[roads-scholar]

It's easy to call the Southern Connector as waste of money. Traffic and revenue have not met projections. It will probably default on it's bonds. Some motorists go out of their way to avoid it. The tolls are probably too high. And, what does the Southern Connector connect or bypass?

I seriously doubt a Southern Connector would be built today, even as a toll facility. Investors, bond issuers, taxpayers, and lawmakers are in no mood to finance a highway even if traffic and revenue projections clearly support building it. Toll roads are quite common in the northeast but are very rare elsewhere in the US. Toll roads in South Carolina are even rarer, the Southern Connector in Greenville and the US-278 bypass / parkway in Hilton Head are the only ones in the state. To but it more bluntly, we don't like tolls!

Traffic will increase on the connector in the future. But will it pay the bonds and operate costs? Who knows. I do think that in time motorists will come around and see that building the highway was a smart move. As growth occurs south of Donaldson Center along US-25 I see more and more motorists using it to reach their destination.

In the near term I'd like to see better signage on I-85 and I-385 pointing out the connector's "connections" to US-25, US-276, Donaldson Center, and Simpsonville. Many motorists have no idea where the road goes.

[vicupstate]

Does anyone know what will happen to the road once the default occurs? Would the road be taken over by the state and be toll-free? Obviously the investors that the hit under that scenario, but they stop the bleeding.

[distortedlogic]

I agree that down the road the connector will prove more useful; say in 15-20 years. However, I think the route was poorly planned. I f you look at the map of the road. the Westernmost leg curves back northward for several miles, almost parallelling 85 itself. If the road had actually curved southward towards Atlanta, it would have come much nearer to satisfying it's purpose. It could have actually been shorter by a couple of miles, and yet cut off like 10 more miles of 85. The eastern side, though less so, could have been angled a little more favorably as well. I think a better planned route would have made it much more viable and thus more used.

[GvilleSC]

I agree that down the road the connector will prove more useful; say in 15-20 years. However, I think the route was poorly planned. I f you look at the map of the road. the Westernmost leg curves back northward for several miles, almost parallelling 85 itself. If the road had actually curved southward towards Atlanta, it would have come much nearer to satisfying it's purpose. It could have actually been shorter by a couple of miles, and yet cut off like 10 more miles of 85. The eastern side, though less so, could have been angled a little more favorably as well. I think a better planned route would have made it much more viable and thus more used.

I was looking at that, too. However, it makes sense for the route to connect to I-185 to downtown Greenville. I think it would have been better if they don't mess so much with where it hits Greenville and Simpsonville as much as they should have tried to make it not so round-about. A more direct line, with the same intersections with 85 and 385 would have helped not only distance travelers, but also commuters to and from downtown to the Golden Strip.

[Greenville]

First of all, this road is not "a waste." The problem isn't that the road was built, but when it was built. It was clearly ahead of its time, but that doesn't mean that people behind it were stupid. It also doesn't mean that toll roads don't work in the South.

I think part of the reason for the current route was because of the plans for the Matrix Business Park. That was (and maybe still is) supposed to be a huge deal. It makes sense to use I-185 to connect to that, which would then have a domino effect of spurring additional development along the road. I realize that hasn't happened yet, but hindsight is 20/20.

This road will have a lot of development on it one day, but the question is when. I don't think it will be 15-20 years. My guess is more like 5-10.

[gman430]

It's actually making a profit finally: http://www.wspa.com/story/24752391/southern-connector-claims-record-revenue-year?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[ausrutherford]

People actually use it? 

[Birdbrain]

People actually PAY to use it?