I-85: More Widening Ahead?

[GSP Tiger]

Interstates growing sideways

Anderson Independent-Mail (SC)

2006/2/1

Georgia plans to begin widening I-85 to six lanes from the I-985 split to the South Carolina state line as early as next year. Is this a sign that I-85 may be widened to six lanes from Exit 19 to the Georgia state line and from Exit 80 to the North Carolina state line in the near future? Massive amounts of traffic travels between Atlanta and Charlotte and possibly up to the NC triangle area.

[upstate29650]

Massive amounts of traffic, for sure, but I wouldn't necessarily count on SCDOT to do anything about it, for now. Georgia has a track record on spending money for roads...one that makes most states envious.

SC tends to look at roads that touch state lines as "pipelines" that let money flow in to neighboring states, and sees no point in facilitating its departure.

[Spartan]

Its probably planned, but I think that the stretch from Cowpens to the NC line will be first. That stretch of road is in need of widening much more than the stretch in Anderson.

[interestedexpat]

As big a fan of Anderson as I am. I have to agree with Spartan on this one. The stretch from Ga to exit 19 doesn't need widening; however, with the growth of the area around Hartwell Lake it wouldn't be a bad idea to put it in the 15-20 year plan.

[goodbye]

Either way, both ends need widening soon. I have traveled both directions several times recently, and have experienced traffic buildups and backups numerous occasions. Believe me, that's the last place you want to be sitting waiting for an accident to be cleaned up.

I think Georigia does a great job of completing road work in good time. They recently rebuilt almost every overpass between SC and metro Atlanta. Now we'll see how quickly their widening of the interstate will happen. SCDOT and others might need to keep an eye on that because it could be a lesson on how to accomplish this type of task within a decade.

[GSP Tiger]

I second Skyliner's opinion.

Georgia state line to Exit 19 (US-76/SC-28/Clemson Boulevard, Anderson)

This stretch is frequented by traffic to and from Atlanta. The Savannah River bridges that mark the state line have seen numerous accidents over the years resulting in some fatalities. From Fair Play at Exit 2 (SC-59) to Exit 11 (SC-24) lies no median cable barriers, helpful for preventing oncoming traffic jumping over in your way.

Exit 80 (Gosset Road, Spartanburg) to North Carolina state line

Several improvements have been made in recent years: Broad River and Pacolet River replacement bridges, SC-11 interchange rebuild and SC-105 interchange rebuild. Not as dangerous as I think it is, ist still raises concern about its traffic volumes to and from Charlotte. NCDOT has only ten miles to widen from the South Carolina state line to Exit 10 (US-74/US-29 north) in Kings Mountain.

[Noneck_08]

Not as dangerous as I think it is, ist still raises concern about its traffic volumes to and from Charlotte. NCDOT has only ten miles to widen from the South Carolina state line to Exit 10 (US-74/US-29 north) in Kings Mountain.

Hmmm, in NC construction time, that will equal about 5 years of construction.

[Jerseyman4]

Hmmm, in NC construction time, that will equal about 5 years of construction.

I cant speak much of I-85 in the upstate but it would not hurt to widen the remaining four lane segments to 6 lanes. My only concern is that if you put all Atlanta drivers on I-85 in SC, the left lane gets blocked very quickly and you were no better off than having four lanes.

Atlanta has the worst habitual left lane drivers on the east coast by far.