I-85, Official Highway of the South

[A2]

Sensitive, yes. But, it is always fun to debate to pass the time at the office.

A2

[sonofaque86]

True. I love a debate

[bobliocatt]

I-20 would seem to be the most important because it connects more southern states and services a much great population in the south, than the others. After that I-75 or I-85 would probably be second in line.

[Metroinspect.]

I go for I-20, because it goes through most of the biggest Metro Area in the south including Dallas/Fort Worth & Atlanta which both over 4 million!

[jfl25]

I-85 but i'm not objective because i live in Greenville and without I-85 Greenville would not be what it is today.

[gs3]

http://www.developmentalliance.com/docu/pdf/43223.pdf

I think this says it all. I-85...all the way. I-20 and I-40 are seriously important too.

A2

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Great article!! That sums it up! I-85

[bobliocatt]

Its definately the most important interstate in the Carolinas, but its questionable once you leave their borders. For instance, I-20/I-65/I-75/I-95 are just as important or even more in the other states I-85 travels through. In the end, by traveling through Dallas/Fort Worth and Atlanta, I-20 hits a much larger percentage of the South's overall population.

[peaceloveunderstanding]

No. I-77 is the most important

I'm joking of course. As for the most important highway I am torn between I-20 and I-85. Both are exceptionally important for the economy in it's current state but I-85 seems to have more business growth on it according to A2's article.

It comes down to which one is more important to Atlanta since they seem to be the economic giant nowadays, both are backbones of the South and provide transportation for many materials, people, and products.

[krazeeboi]

That article was quite enlightening. I wasn't aware that of the top 20 facilities listed for investment, 9 are located in SC. Way cool.

I think it's somewhat debatable whether or not I-85 is the most important interstate in the Carolinas. While it's certainly more important to NC, I-26 runs through all of SC's major metropolitan areas (Charleston, Columbia, Spartanburg-Greenville area). It would be interesting to see those same statistics on I-26 that the article cites concerning I-85. It also depends on what is meant by "most important."

Also, under the "Largest in Floor Area" category, Black & Decker in Fort Mill is listed. Apparently they are including the town in the Charlotte metro area, since Charlotte is located on the I-85 corridor.

[nashvol85]

Living in Tennessee it's hard to grasp the importance of those other interstates. I don't think that any state in the south depends on one interstate like we do with I-40. It goes through our 3 largest cities and travels an amazing 455 miles through the state. Only I-75 comes close as far as importance to us.

As far as best in the South goes...I would pick I-10 personally. It's the major interstate across the bottom of the south...and stays in "the south" all the way to Los Angeles (I know you're talking about southern states, but face it, I-10 stays south for it's entire journey...and seems to be a much more important road when you think of coast to coast.

[A2]

I-85 can actually be seen from a density standpoint. Check out the concentration between Atlanta, CLT, and Raleigh. (I-85 is to the SE, what I-95 is to the NE. Just a mini-version)

http://dmsp.ngdc.noaa.gov/pres/sprawl_0425...diance_2001.jpg

A2

[cityboi]

I agree. I-20 passes through more of the states and more of the South's major cities.

Compare:

I-85: Richmond, Durham, Greensboro, Charlotte, Greenville, Atlanta and Montgomery.

I-20: Columbia, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, Shreveport, Dallas and Fort Worth.

No comparison.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The thing is that I-85 connects most of the south's major metros to the Bo-Wash megapolis. Therefore I-85 becomes the more important of the south east.

[bobliocatt]

I-85 doesn't go through many major southern metros and isn't the only interstate in the south to make for a possible connection to the Northeast. I would still go with I-20, since it connects more cities and a much larger southern population. Btw, from looking at a map, I-75 looks to play an equal or larger role to the South than I-85, by being a major gateway.