Interstate 385

Infobox road
state=SC
route=385
type=I


maint=
length_mi=42.16
length_round=2
length_ref= [ [http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table2.htm Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2] ]
year_established=1955 (completed 1982)
direction_a=South
terminus_a=Jct|state=SC|I|26 near Clinton
junction=Jct|state=SC|I|185 near Mauldin
Jct|state=SC|I|85 near Greenville
direction_b=North
terminus_b=Jct|state=SC|US|276|BS|385|dab2=Greenville in Greenville
previous_type=SC
previous_route=384
next_type=SC
next_route=386

Interstate 385 (I-385) is an interstate highway located in The Upstate region of South Carolina. It goes from Clinton, South Carolina at Interstate 26 to Greenville, South Carolina at Laurens Road/U.S. 276 (Exit 42). After exit 42, Interstate 385 turns into a Business Spur and becomes East North Street and later - for northbound motorists only - Beattie Place. The spur promptly ends at U.S. 29 (Church Street) near the Bi-Lo Center in Downtown Greenville.

The explosive economic growth of southern Greenville county is largely attributed to I-385 and its ability to connect the southern portion of the county with 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".

Route description

I-385 features a rather unusual rest area in the median strip near Laurens, SC, 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 (saves money). The design is similar to many of those built on turnpikes that predated the Interstate System.

After exit 42, Interstate 385 turns into Business Spur 385 that then promptly ends at U.S. 29 near the Bi-Lo Center in downtown Greenville. It is one of 5 official Interstate business spurs in South Carolina (the others being spurs of I-20, I-126, I-526, and I-585).

History

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 Interstate 85 would have used the U.S. Route 29 corridor from Greenville east towards Spartanburg based on the diagram.

The portion of I-385 that replaced US-276 (from SC-417 in Mauldin to SC-56 / I-26 in Clinton) was initially the first phase built of an SC DOT 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 SC between 1959 and 1963).

Prior to 1985, I-385 was only signed as such from downtown Greenville to I-85. The portion of the freeway from U.S. 276 in Mauldin to the southern terminus at I-26 was signed as U.S. 276. When the connecting portion was completed, the entire freeway was signed as I-385.

Exit list

References