Wikipedia

Interstate 385

(Redirected from I-385 (SC))

Interstate 385 (I-385) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway located in the Upstate region of South Carolina. I-385 is a spur route of I-85. The highway provides a connection between Greenville and I-26 to the south, connecting Greenville to Columbia and Charleston. Around Greenville, the last several miles of I-385 forms the northeastern quadrant of a partial beltway around Greenville's southern suburbs along with I-185.

Interstate 385 marker
Interstate 385
Map
I-385 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-85
Maintained by SCDOT
Length42.16 mi[1] (67.85 km)
Existed1962[citation needed]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-26 near Clinton
Major intersections
North end I-385 BS / US 276 in Downtown Greenville
Location
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Carolina
CountiesLaurens, Greenville
Highway system
← SC 381→ SC 385

Route description

edit
 
SC 49 exit on I-385, four miles (6.4 km) before the road ends at I-26

After exit 42, I-385 turns into I-385 Business (I-385 Bus.) and becomes East North Street and later—for northbound motorists only—Beattie Place. The business route promptly ends at US Highway 29 (US 29; Church Street) near Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville.

The explosive economic growth of southern Greenville county is largely attributed to I-385 and its connection to the city of Greenville and the major cities of Atlanta and Charlotte (via I-85). This area is known by locals as the "Golden Strip".

I-385 features a rather unusual rest area in the median strip near Laurens that serves both directions of traffic. It was completed as part of the original design of the US 276 expressway in 1958, modeled after the type of single median-located rest areas shared by both north and southbound traffic (to save money). The design is similar to many of those built on turnpikes that predated the Interstate System.

History

edit
 
1955 "Yellow Book" map of Greenville

The general idea—but none of the specifics—of I-385 were present on the 1955 Yellow Book map of the Greenville area. Also of note is that I-85 would have used the US 29 corridor from Greenville east toward Spartanburg based on the diagram.

The portion of I-385 that replaced US 276[2] (from South Carolina Highway 417 [SC 417] in Mauldin to SC 56/I-26 in Clinton) was initially the first phase built of a South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) plan that predated the Interstate System to upgrade and bypass existing through routes, the goal of forming a single limited-access highway from Greenville to the port of Charleston via the state capital of Columbia. This plan was scrapped as soon as the future I-26 was added to the act of Congress that set into motion the Interstate System. As a result, I-26 was one of the first Interstates in the south to open in significant mileage (most in South Carolina between 1959 and 1963).[citation needed]

Before 1985, I-385 was only signed as such from downtown Greenville to I-85. The portion of the freeway from US 276 in Mauldin to the southern terminus at I-26 was signed as US 276. When the connecting portion was completed, the entire freeway was signed as I-385.[citation needed]

For seven months ending July 23, 2010, northbound traffic could not use a 15-mile (24 km) section of I-385 in Laurens County due to a $60.9-million (equivalent to $83.1 million in 2023[3]) project to pave the portion extending from SC 101 to the I-385/I-26 interchange near Clinton in concrete. The closing of a major highway generated controversy.[4] Closing the Interstate for construction saved approximately $34 million (equivalent to $46.4 million in 2023[3]).[2]

Between 2002 and 2012, I-385 was widened from two to three lanes in each direction from just north of exit 24 near Fountain Inn to just south of Woodruff Road/SC 146 (exit 35), with the portion between exits 31 and 35 resurfaced in concrete.[5]

Between February 2016 and January 2020, the I-385/I-85 interchange was overhauled to decrease congestion and related accidents.[6]

Exit list

edit
CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
LaurensClinton0.000.00 
  I-26 east		Continuation beyond southern terminus; I-26 exit 51
2.003.222  SC 308 – Ora, Clinton
Laurens5.318.555  SC 49 – Laurens, Cross Anchor
8.5513.769  US 221 – Laurens, Enoree
Gray Court10.3416.6410Metric Road – Gray Court
15.8725.5416  SC 101 – Woodruff, Gray Court
18.8730.3719 
  SC 14 east – Owings, Gray Court		Southern end of SC 14 concurrency
Fountain Inn21.6334.8122 
  SC 14 west – Fountain Inn		Northern end of SC 14 concurrency
Greenville23.1037.1823  SC 418 – Fountain Inn, Pelzer
24.1138.8024Fairview Street – Fountain Inn
Simpsonville25.7741.4726Harrison Bridge Road
27.1343.6627Fairview Road – Simpsonville
28.7146.2029Georgia Road – Simpsonville
Mauldin30.1448.5130 
 
  
  I-185 Toll north (Southern Connector) / US 276 west – Atlanta, Anderson, Mauldin		Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-185 exit 1B; eastern terminus of US 276
 
  Old Stage Road / E. Standing Springs Road to US 276		Southbound exit and northbound entrance
30.9849.8631 
 
  I-185 Toll north – Atlanta
  SC 417 (Laurens Road) – Simpsonville		I-185 not signed northbound
33.0753.2233Bridges Road – Mauldin
34.1354.9334Butler Road – Mauldin
35.5057.1335  SC 146 (Woodruff Road) – Mauldin
Greenville36.2058.2636  I-85 – Spartanburg, AndersonSigned as exits 36A (north) and 36B (south) northbound; single exit 36 southbound; I-85 exits 51B-C
37.2960.0137Roper Mountain Road
38.8762.5639Haywood Road
40.1164.5540  SC 291 (Pleasantburg Drive)
41.8667.3742  US 276 – Travelers Rest, Mauldin
42.1667.85—East North Street (I-385 Bus. north)Continuation as unsigned I-385 Bus.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Interstate 385 Business

edit
Interstate 385 Business
LocationGreenville
Length0.490 mi[7] (789 m)
Existed1962–present

Interstate 385 Business (I-385 Bus.) is a 0.490-mile (0.789 km) boulevard-grade business route of I-385 along North Street, between Stone Avenue (US 276) and Church Street (US 29). It is an unsigned highway. Its continuation along North Street becomes SC 183. It also connects to US 123 (Academy Street) and SC 183 (Beattie Place).[8] Signage previously existed for this spur route but, by 2007, has been removed;[citation needed] appears only in the SCDOT Greenville–Spartanburg Metro map.[9]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Starks, Edward (January 27, 2022). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (May 2012). "AASHTO Project Profiles: South Carolina Department of Transportation I-385 Rehabilitation Project". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  4. ^ Cay, Nathaniel (July 25, 2010). "I-385 reopened after 7-month closure". Greenville News. Retrieved July 25, 2010.
  5. ^ "I-385 widening". South Carolina Department of Transportation. September 9, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
  6. ^ "I-85/385 Gateway". www.85385gateway.com.
  7. ^ "Highway Logmile Report". South Carolina Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Overview map of I-385 Bus. (Greenville)" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  9. ^ Greenville–Spartanburg Urban Area (PDF) (Map). South Carolina Department of Transportation. September 2013. p. Sheet 16. § G5. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 10, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
edit
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Interstate 385
KML is from Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interstate_385&oldid=1245137785"