Interstate 20 in South Carolina

Infobox road
state=SC
route=20
type=I
maint=South Carolina Department of Transportation


length_mi=141
length_round=0
length_ref=Fact|date=August 2008
established=
direction_a=West
terminus_a=Jct|state=GA|I|20 at the Georgia line/Savannah River
junction=jct|state=SC|US|25|SC|121 in North Augusta
Jct|state=SC|US|1 near Lexington
Jct|state=SC|I|26 near Columbia
Jct|state=SC|SC|277 near Columbia
Jct|state=SC|I|77 in Arcadia Lakes
direction_b=East
terminus_b=Jct|state=SC|I|95 near Florence
previous_type=SC
previous_route=19
next_type=SC
next_route=20
Interstate 20 is a major thoroughfare cutting across the state of South Carolina, linking the state with important transportation and business hubs to the north, west and south, including Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, North Carolina (via Interstate 77), Savannah, Georgia (via Interstate 95) and Washington, D.C. (via Interstate 95).

Route description

Interstate 20 enters the Palmetto State after crossing the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia. Known as the J. Strom Thurmond Freeway, the highway heads northeastward, bypassing Aiken and Lexington before reaching the state capitol of Columbia.

At Columbia, I-20 crosses the Saluda and Broad rivers and 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.

Proposed Extension of Interstate 20

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.

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities

* Augusta, Georgia
* North Augusta
* Aiken
* Lexington
* Columbia
* Arcadia Lakes
* Camden
* Florence

Major intersections

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*
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Exit list

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.

External links

* [http://www.southeastroads.com/i-020_sc.html South Carolina @ Southeast Roads.com - Interstate 20]