Interstate 20

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Interstate 20 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	1535 mi (2470 km)
Formed:	1957
West end:	I-10 near Kent, TX
Major junctions:	I-35W in Fort Worth, TX I-35E in Dallas, TX I-45 in Dallas, TX I-55 in Jackson, MS I-65 in Birmingham, AL I-75/I-85 in Atlanta, GA
East end:	I-95/BS 20 near Florence, SC

Interstate 20 (abbreviated I-20) is a major east-west interstate highway in Texas and the southeastern United States. It runs 1,535 miles (2,470 km) from near Kent, Texas at Interstate 10 (map) to Florence, South Carolina at Interstate 95 (map). After splitting off from Interstate 10, I-20 runs through much of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina before ending at Interstate 95 in Florence, South Carolina. From there, the highway continues about two miles into the heart of Florence as Business Spur 20.

[edit] Route Description

[edit] Texas

Interstate 20 begins 10 miles east of Kent at the intersection with Interstate 10. From there, the highway travels east northeastward through Odessa, Midland and Abilene before turning eastward towards the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The La Entrada al Pacifico corridor runs along I-20 between U.S. 385 and FM 1788. Between Monahans and I-10, I-20 has an 80-mile-per-hour speed limit, the highest in the United States.

From the highway's opening in the 1960s through 1971, I-20 originally went through the heart of the Metroplex via the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike. At that time, I-20 was routed to the southeast west of Fort Worth through the southern sections of Tarrant and Dallas counties. At Mesquite, the highway eastward through Terrell and eastern Texas. This route took over the southern areas of what was once Interstate 820 in Fort Worth and Interstate 635 in Dallas, though I-20 was co-signed with I-635.

Until 1987, I-20 went up the eastern loop of I-635 to Mesquite, where it continued eastward. That year, the highway was rerouted once again, this time from the eastern loop of I-635 and onto a new alignment between Balch Springs and Terrell.

Today I-20 turns to the southeast west of Fort Worth and goes through the southern sections of that city, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Dallas and Mesquite before rejoining its original route at Terrell. Parts of I-20 in Dallas is named the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway.

The original route of I-20 through the heart of the area is now signed Interstate 30, U.S. 80 and Texas Spur 557.

Interstate 20 continues eastward from Terrell, bypassing Tyler, Marshall and Longview before crossing the Louisiana border near Waskom.

[edit] Louisiana

After passing Waskom, Texas, I-20 immediately crosses the Louisiana border. About 20 miles later, the highway passes through Shreveport and Bossier City. From there, the highway continues eastward through Ruston and Monroe before reaching the Mississippi River and the Mississippi border.

[edit] Mississippi

Upon crossing the Mississippi River, I-20 immediately enters Vicksburg. Between that city and Jackson, the highway follows the original route of U.S. 80. In Jackson, I-20 sees a short multiplex with both Interstate 55 and U.S. 49. From the Capital City, I-20 continues eastward to Meridian, where it begins the nearly 160-mile overlap with Interstate 59.

The route of the Mississippi section of Interstate 20 is defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3.

[edit] Alabama

Interstate 20 (with I-59) crosses the Alabama line near York and stays conjoined as it passes through Tuscaloosa. At Birmingham, the two highways passes through downtown before splitting at Exit 130 just east of Birmingham International Airport. I-20 continues eastward through Anniston, Oxford, and the Talladega National Forest, bypassing Talladega Superspeedway in the process, which is visible from the highway.

Also in Birmingham, the intersection of I-20/I-59 and Interstate 65 is known as Malfunction Junction because of the interchange's design and the number of accidents that occur there.

[edit] Georgia

I-20 enters the Peach State near Tallapoosa and immediately enters the Atlanta metro area. In Atlanta, the highway passes through the heart of the city, crossing Interstates 75 and 85 (the Downtown Connector and continues eastward through the state until it exits the state at Augusta.

Throughout the state, I-20 is conjoined with Georgia Highway 402. However, signs for Highway 402 are not in place. Also, I-20 in Cobb County is named the Tom Murphy Freeway while it is called the Ralph David Abernathy Freeway in Fulton County and along the stretch from the Fulton-Dekalb county line to the eastern loop of Interstate 285.

[edit] South Carolina

Upon leaving Augusta, I-20 crosses the Savannah River and enters the Palmetto State and heads northeastward, bypassing Aiken and Lexington before reaching the state capitol of Columbia.

At Columbia, Interstate 20 travels through the northern part of the city and turns eastward, bypassing Fort Jackson and Camden before reaching Florence. It is at Florence where I-20 sees its eastern terminus at Interstate 95. However, for about two miles, the highway continues to downtown Florence as Business Spur 20.

I-20 in the Palmetto State is known as the J. Strom Thurmond Freeway.

[edit] Proposed Interstate 20 Extension

In 2003, The North Carolina Department of Transportation proposed extending I-20 eastward from Florence to Wilmington at the behest of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and his 'Strategic Transportation Plan' for the southeast portion of the state. The proposed route would follow U.S. 76 east from Florence to Whiteville, North Carolina, then parallel U.S. 74/U.S. 76 into Wilmington. Part of this route is already designated the future Interstate 74. As part of the 2005 SAFETEA-LU transportation legislation, North Carolina received $5 million for a feasibility study for this extension. While this extension has considerable support among towns in southeastern North Carolina, the South Carolina DOT has stated that they have no interest in upgrading their portion of U.S. 76 to an interstate. This is likely due, in no small part, to encourage eastbound vacationers to travel to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina rather than Wilmington and that they are concentrating their efforts on plans to build Interstate 73 that will terminate near Myrtle Beach.

[edit] Length

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

• El Paso, Texas (via Interstate 10)
• Odessa, Texas
• Midland, Texas
• Abilene, Texas
• Fort Worth, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Tyler, Texas (at Lindale, Texas)
• Longview, Texas
• Shreveport, Louisiana
• Monroe, Louisiana
• Vicksburg, Mississippi
• Jackson, Mississippi
• Meridian, Mississippi
• Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Anniston, Alabama
• Atlanta, Georgia
• Augusta, Georgia
• Columbia, South Carolina
• Florence, South Carolina

[edit] Intersections with other interstates

• Interstate 10 in Kent, Texas
• Interstate 30 near Fort Worth, Texas
• Interstate 820 in Fort Worth, Texas (twice)
• Interstate 35W in Fort Worth, Texas
• Interstate 35E in Dallas, Texas
• Interstate 45 in Dallas, Texas
• Interstate 635 in Dallas, Texas
• Interstate 220 in Shreveport, Louisiana (west terminus)
• Interstate 49 in Shreveport, Louisiana
• Interstate 220 in Bossier City, Louisiana (eastern terminus)
• Interstate 220 in Jackson, Mississippi
• Interstate 55 in Jackson, Mississippi (I-20 and I-55 briefly run together here)
• Interstate 59 in Meridian, Mississippi (Map). I-20 and I-59 stay connected until Birmingham, Alabama.

I-95 approaching the eastern terminus of I-20

• Interstate 359 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Interstate 65 in Birmingham, Alabama
  • The interchange with I-20/59 and I-65 is commonly referred to as "Malfunction Junction" due to the high number of accidents in the area.
• Interstate 59 in Birmingham, Alabama
• Interstate 459 in Birmingham, Alabama (twice)
• Interstate 285 in Atlanta, Georgia (twice)
• Interstate 75/Interstate 85 in Atlanta, Georgia. Both follow the same stretch of freeway known as the Downtown Connector.
• Interstate 520 in Augusta, Georgia
• Interstate 26 in Columbia, South Carolina
• Interstate 77 in Columbia, South Carolina
• Interstate 95 in Florence, South Carolina (Map)

[edit] Spur/Loop routes

• Shreveport, Louisiana - I-220
• Jackson, Mississippi - I-220
• Augusta, Georgia - I-520
• Fort Worth, Texas - I-820

	edit Auxiliary routes of Interstate 20
	Current and Future (F)	Former
	Louisiana - Mississippi
		Georgia - Louisiana
	Georgia-South Carolina
	Texas

[edit] Notes

• Two Interstate 420s were planned, but never completed or built. One was to be a bypass around Monroe, Louisiana, but was never built. The other I-420 was planned as a bypass to the south of downtown Atlanta. Due to anti-freeway sentiments, this I-420 was never completed, and the already-built portion has been signed as GA 154/GA 166, named Langford Parkway (formerly the Lakewood Freeway). Additionally, it is highly unlikely that any road will ever be designated as "Route 420," due to that number being popular in the drug trade.

[edit] External links

• http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-020.html I-20 on Interstate-Guide.com
• http://www.duke.edu/~rmalme/ncfutint.html Proposed I-20 extension in North Carolina

[edit] References

• http://www.duke.edu/~rmalme/i74seg18.html I-20 in NC discussion on I-74 in North Carolina Progress Page, accessed October 4, 2005.
• Georgia Deartment of Transportation, Office of Transportation Data (2003). "Interstate Mileage Report (438 Report)".

edit Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)
4	5	8	10	12	15	16	17	19	20	22	24	25	26	27	29	30
35	37	39	40	43	44	45	49	55	57	59	64	65	66	66 (W)		68
69	70	71	72	73	74	75	76 (W)		76 (E)		77	78	79	80	81	82
83	84 (W)		84 (E)		85	86 (W)		86 (E)		87	88 (W)		88 (E)		89	90
91	93	94	95	96	97	99	H-1		H-2		H-3
Unsigned			A-1		A-2		A-3		A-4		PRI-1		PRI-2		PRI-3
Lists		Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced

edit Major Highways and Expressways of Metro Birmingham
	Heroes Highway		(future) Interstate 22		Interstate 59
	Interstate 20		American Veterans Highway / Decatur Highway		US Route 280
	Elton B. Stephens Expressway		Interstate 459		Montgomery Highway
	Bessemer Superhighway		Crestwood Boulevard		Lakeshore Parkway

Browse numbered routes
< SR 20	AL		SR 21 >
< SR 401	GA		SR 403 >