I20/i26 (Columbia, Greenville, Clemson: neighborhoods, design, cars)

[GSP101]

Per WLTX, planned improvements for this interchange have been cancelled. SCDOT claims that money is the issue. Is this the case or is this political? I thought this was the #1 project for improvements, are other projects cancelled?

[smithgn]

Oh no... This isn't good news. Was wondering about this the other day. My girlfriend works for an engineering firm- will ask her tomorrow if she's heard anything about this since her company is keen on road projects.

[Carolina Knight]

The I-20/I-26 interchange rebuild is years away. Work will not begin until the I-85/I-385 interchange in Greenville County, the first priority in major projects, is completed. Work on I-85/I-385 will commence next year, and should be complete by 2016.

[g-man430]

Originally Posted by Carolina Knight

The I-20/I-26 interchange rebuild is years away. Work will not begin until the I-85/I-385 interchange in Greenville County, the first priority in major projects, is completed. Work on I-85/I-385 will commence next year, and should be complete by 2016.

Looks like this one might have been cancelled also. Don't see it listed here under Greenville County anymore: Doing Business with SCDOT Hope I am wrong though.

[GSP101]

Originally Posted by Carolina Knight

The I-20/I-26 interchange rebuild is years away. Work will not begin until the I-85/I-385 interchange in Greenville County, the first priority in major projects, is completed. Work on I-85/I-385 will commence next year, and should be complete by 2016.

Not that it matters in light of this news but, I remember seeing the 26/20 interchange as being the first priority. Granted this is alwayssubject to change. In any case, the WLTX report said that SCDOT did not have he money for the project and would not even start the design work. It is bad when you have two major interstates intersect with such a terrible design.

[Shadybhoy]

scdot should build a bridge across the broad river rd and have a connector from i-77 to i-26 just north of the irmo area. that would alleviate some congestion on 20/26 interchange

[mjpayne44]

Yes, a northern connector from north of the Irmo area, across I-77 and to I-20 would help tremendously. At the very least it could reduce truck traffic from the I-20/I-26 interchange. Also, some sort of I-26 bypass west of Columbia would be great if they could figure out where to position it (neighborhoods & Lake Murray offer obstacles). Finally, it would be wise if a few bridges would be built across parts of the rivers, as generally local traffic is forced to use the interstates, putting slower and often times less efficient cars on the road. I witnessed a crappy looking van yesterday leaving near the Bush River Walmart that had a ridiculously low front right tire get on I-26 West. Granted this was likely someone's ignorant mistake, but I feel like situations like this could be curbed if we created alternate non-interstate routes for local traffic.

[accufitgolf]

A retired SC DOT employee I know said there always was a plan for a beltway around Columbia with the first step being a connector from I77 up around Blythewood over to I26 in the Irmo area and signage to encourage those passing through Columbia on I26 to go this way thus getting traffic off I26 near the city.

He also said they talked about extending the above beltway from I26, out around Lexington to I20 and on over to I26 over where I77 hits I26.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by accufitgolf

A retired SC DOT employee I know said there always was a plan for a beltway around Columbia with the first step being a connector from I77 up around Blythewood over to I26 in the Irmo area and signage to encourage those passing through Columbia on I26 to go this way thus getting traffic off I26 near the city.

He also said they talked about extending the above beltway from I26, out around Lexington to I20 and on over to I26 over where I77 hits I26.

While this would be great to see, think the metro area would have to grow pretty significantly before it ever comes to fruition. Probably at least 20-30 years before we ever start to see this seriously considered. Look at Charlotte which is about twice the size of Columbia metro (realize it's a different state, but still), I-485 is still not complete and they started that in the mid-80s.

I-26/I-20 just needs a total overhaul, the interchanges need to be flyover ramps instead of 20 MPH exits where you go around in a circle. I also have heard from a lot of people that there are plans to extend Clemson Rd./Killian Rd. to I-26 at some point from where it ends now at US-21. Making it a limited access highway from US-21 to I-26 would alleviate quite a bit of that traffic coming across I-20 to get to the Lake Murray/Irmo area.

[Iam4USC]

Malfunction Junction. It's part of our identity. Change it and you risk losing a part of ourselves.


:-)