I-85: Boombelt

[gvillenative]

I looked through all 18 pages of the Greenville forum and only found simular topics but not one dedicated to this subject. Didn't want to duplicate, but I digress. On topic now, I'm shooting from the hip here. I can't remember where I saw this maybe Greenville Journal, maybe not. It could have been Greenville News. They had like a do to list of sorts that SC DOT has and one of the items on the list was to widen I -85 maybe through Greenville County( not really sure the scope of the expansion) to about 8 or 10 lanes in the not too distant future. Can someone shed some light on this? If I'm not mistaken the Stretch From Anderson County line to just past the Augusta RD/ 291/ Mauldin Rd. exit is ready to accomadate 8 lanes. If you wanna be technical some areas in that stretch are already 10 lanes but thats counting the collector/ feeder lanes. I'm well aware that they are not counted as far as how many lanes it has. However the actually through lanes can accomidate another lane in either direction, making it 8 lanes, wouldn't that entail the much rumored reconfiguration of the I-85/ I-385 interchange? Any thoughts on this subject?

[g-man430]

^^^It is part of the GPATS 2030 plan. Here is more information on it: http://www.greenvilleplanning.com/transpor...0compressed.pps

[g-man430]

Obviously at the current growth rate, it will have to be widened to 8 lanes before 2030. I would say probably around 2015 maybe even before is when it will need to be widened.

[Spartan]

85 is one of those roads that will never be "finished." It will always need to be widened, but no matter how much you do it, it won't be enough. It may be practical to widen it to 8 lanes, but I think at some point we need to take a serious look at our growth patterns and think about changing the way of life towards something more sustainable like transit. Atlanta has proven without a doubt that you can't widen away your problems.