Interstate 85 in South Carolina

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In the U.S. state of South Carolina, Interstate 85 runs northeast-southwest through Greenville and Spartanburg. It follows the general corridor of U.S. Route 29.

1 Geography
2 Major cities
3 Auxiliary routes
4 Exit list
5 References

[edit] Geography

[edit] Georgia state line to Greenville

In South Carolina, Interstate 85 crosses Lake Hartwell at several points before bypassing Anderson on the way to Greenville. Beginning at Anderson, I-85 widens from four to six lanes. Near Powdersville, U.S. 29 joins I-85 and they run concurrently until they cross the Saluda River.

[edit] Greenville to Spartanburg

Interstate 85 bypasses Greenville, but provides a link into the city via spur routes Interstates 185 and 385. U.S. 29 splits from I-85 and joins I-185 toward downtown Greenville. I-185 recently saw a major expansion south of the city as the Southern Connector was completed.

Two key Upstate businesses can be seen from this portion of the interstate. One is Michelin Tires's North American headquarters and the other is the BMW plant, located in Greer. I-85 also passes Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, which serves the Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan area.

[edit] Spartanburg to North Carolina state line

Instead of going into Spartanburg, I-85 bypasses the city to the north. Its original route is now designated Business Loop 85 and was approved by AASHTO on April 22, 1995.^[1]

North of Spartanburg, I-85 narrows from six lanes back to four lanes and bypasses Gaffney. At Gaffney, motorists can see The Peachoid, a large water tower with its top shaped like a peach, representing one of the state's most important crops.

Most of the terrain between Spartanburg and the North Carolina border is rural in nature.

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

[edit] Auxiliary routes

Interstate 185 is a spur into Greenville from the southwest, and a later extension as a toll road to I-385 southeast of Greenville.
Interstate 385 is a spur into Greenville from the east, and a later extension southeast to Interstate 26 towards Columbia.
Interstate 585 is a spur from Interstate 85 Business into Spartanburg from the northwest. It does not connect directly to I-85 or any other Interstate.

[edit] Exit list

Exits are numbered from south to north, in accordance with AASHTO guidelines.

County	Location	Old Exit #^[2]^[3]	Current #	Destinations	Notes
Hart County, Georgia-Oconee County, South Carolina Line crosses Lake Hartwell
Oconee			1	SC 11 - Walhalla
	crosses Lake Hartwell
			2	SC 59 - Fair Play, Seneca
		4	SC 243/Road 23 - Fair Play
Anderson			11	SC 24/SC 243 - Anderson, Townville	Exit to reach Westminster.
	crosses Lake Hartwell
			14	SC 187 - Pendleton
	crosses Lake Hartwell
			19A-B	U.S. Route 76/SC 28 - Anderson, Clemson	Exit 19A (Anderson) and 19B (Clemson). Use Exit 19A to reach Abbeville and Greenwood.
			21	U.S. Route 178 - Anderson, Liberty
			27	SC 81 - Anderson, Easley
			32	SC 8 - Pelzer, Easley	Exit to reach Belton and Williamston.
			34	U.S. Route 29 south - Williamston, Anderson	Southbound exit and northbound entrance.
	Begin concurrency
			35	SC 86 - Piedmont, Easley
	Powdersville		39	Piedmont, River Road
	Powdersville	40	SC 153 - Easley
Anderson-Greenville county line		crosses the Saluda River
Greenville			42	I-185/U.S. 29 north - Downtown Greenville, Columbia
	End concurrency
			44	U.S. Route 25 (White Horse Road)	Northbound exit. Exit to reach Greenwood and Travelers Rest.
			44A-B	U.S. 25/SC 20 (White Horse Road, Piedmont Highway)	Southbound exit. Split into 44A (Piedmont Highway) and 44B (White Horse Road). No southbound entrance from Piedmont Highway.
			46	SC 291 (Augusta Road, Pleasantburg Drive) - Mauldin Road	Splits into 46A (To SC 291 south - Augusta Road), 46B (SC 291 north - Pleasantburg Drive) and 46C (Mauldin Road). Exit 46A to reach Greenwood.
	crosses the Reedy River
			48A-B	U.S. Route 276 - Mauldin, Greenville	Exits 48A (Laurens) and 48B (Greenville).
			51	SC 146/I-385 (Woodruff Road) - Columbia, Greenville	Splits into Exits 51A (Woodruff Road), 51B (I-385 south - Columbia) and 51C (I-385 north - Greenville). Use Exit 51C to reach downtown Greenville.
			54	Pelham Road
			56	SC 14 - Pelham, Greer	I-85 crosses the Greenville-Spartanburg county line at the SC 14 overpass.
Spartanburg			57	Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport
			58	Brockman McClimon Road
			60	SC 101 - Woodruff, Greer
	crosses the South Tyger River
			63	SC 290 - Moore, Duncan
	crosses the Middle Tyger River
			66	U.S. 29 - Spartanburg-West, Wellford	Exit to reach Lyman.
			68	SC 129 - Wellford
			69	Business Loop 85 north (Freeway Loop) - Spartanburg	Northbound exit and southbound entrance.
			70	I-26 - Columbia, Asheville
			72	U.S. Route 176/To I-585 - Spartanburg, Inman	Exit to reach downtown Spartanburg.
			75	SC 9 - Spartanburg, Boiling Springs
			77	Business Loop 85 south (Freeway Loop) - Spartanburg	Exit 77 northbound formerly exited onto a frontage road.
			78	U.S. Route 221 - Chesnee, Spartanburg
		79	80	State Road 57, Gossett Road
		?	82	Frontage Road	northbound exit only
			83	SC 110 - Cowpens
Cherokee		86	87	Road 39	South Green River Road / Green River Road / Macedonia Road
	Gaffney		90	SC 105 - Gaffney
	Gaffney		92	SC 11/To SC 150 - Gaffney, Boiling Springs, NC
			95	SC 18 - Gaffney, Shelby	No northbound entrance
			96	SC 18 - Shelby	No northbound exit.
				Gaffney Ferry Road	northbound entrance only
	crosses the Broad River
		?	98	Frontage Road	northbound exit only
		99	100	SC 5 - Blacksburg, Rock Hill
			102	SC 198 - Blacksburg, Earl
			104	Road 99
		105	106	U.S. 29 - Grover, Blacksburg
Cherokee County, South Carolina-Cleveland County, North Carolina Line continues northeast into North Carolina