Interstate 85 Business (South Carolina)
Interstate 85 Business (I-85 Bus. or BL 85) is a business loop of the Interstate Highway System. It is entirely a freeway running along the old route of I-85 in the vicinity of Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only freeway to connect with I-585, which is now an isolated piece of the Interstate Highway System (as Interstate business routes themselves are considered isolated from the Interstate System[2]).
Interstate 85 Business | |
|---|---|
| Veterans Parkway | |
 I-85 Bus. highlighted in green | |
| Route information | |
| Business route of I-85 | |
| Maintained by SCDOT | |
| Length | 8.770 mi[1] (14.114 km) |
| Existed | 1995–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  I-85 near Wellford |
| |
| North end | I-85 near Spartanburg |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Carolina |
| Counties | Spartanburg |
| Highway system | |
Route description edit
I-85 Bus. leaves I-85 at a northbound-only offramp, with a southbound flyunder ramp. The first on- and offramps are with local streets used as frontage roads leading to Road 41 (North Blackstock Road). Road 41 connects with the Fairforest community, to the south, and several industrial and distribution businesses to its immediate north and west. The road then has another interchange with I-26 just before the one with Fairforest Road. The road briefly curves to the left as it runs parallel to South Carolina Highway 295 (SC 295) near the exit for New Cut Road, where SC 295 ends, then crosses over a former Southern Railway railroad line between southbound exit 4A and exit 4B, which is a roundabout interchange with SC 56. Immediately after the ramps from that interchange converge with the main road, I-85 Bus. approaches exit 5A another interchange with I-585/U.S. Highway 176 (US 176) but only includes a southeastbound ramp for northbound traffic. The next exit (5B) is a short offramp to the Milliken & Company headquarters for northbound drivers. Southbound drivers can still take exit 5B to US 176 and future I-585. Still relying on local bidirectional frontage roads, the road uses ramps to and from exit 6 to SC 9, which itself has quarter cloverleaf interchanges to I-85 Bus.'s frontage roads. The penultimate interchange however (exit 7) is a normal diamond interchange, albeit with one of the frontage roads terminating at the southbound onramp. I-85 Bus. ends at a trumpet interchange with I-85, which has access to and from both northbound and southbound I-85, unlike the southwestern end, which only has access from northbound I-85 and to southbound I-85.[3]
History edit
This is one of two separate freeway segments to carry the I-85 Bus. designation. The other segment exists in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, and it was also a former alignment of I-85. The old exit numbers are gone.[4]
The business loop was established in 1995 when I-85 was placed on new freeway bypassing north of Spartanburg. The old alignment, which was originally built as a super two for US 29, was upgraded to a four-lane freeway when I-85 was established in 1959. In 1962, US 29 was realigned back through downtown Spartanburg. Since 1959, few improvements have been made along the route, which is why it is labeled a substandard freeway.[4][5]
Spartanburg civic leaders in 2000 proposed that it become I-685 but was turned down by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) because of cost of upgrades. As a compromise, the signage was amended calling it a "Freeway Loop" at both end points along I-85.[citation needed]
On July 12, 2021, SCDOT closed the central portion around Hearon Circle for bridge replacements.[6] Construction was expected to be completed July 2023 but was later pushed out to October 2023. In late October 2023, SCDOT then announced that the reopening had been delayed again due to additional work being needed that would take a few months to complete.[7] The segment finally reopened to traffic at 7:00 am EDT on December 6, 2023.[8][9] Traffic was detoured along I-85 and I-585 during the closure.[10]
Exit list edit
The entire route is in Spartanburg County.
| Location | mi[1] | km | Old exit[3][4] | New exit | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | 0.000 | 0.000 | — | — |  I-85 south – Greenville | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern terminus | |
| Fairforest | 1.018– 1.020 | 1.638– 1.642 | 69 | 1 | Road 41 (North Blackstock Road) | ||
| Fairforest–Arcadia– Southern Shops tripoint | 1.920 | 3.090 | 70 | 2 |  I-26 – Columbia, Asheville | Signed as exits 2A (east) and 2B (west) | |
| Arcadia–Southern Shops line | 2.350 | 3.782 | 71 | 2C | Road 525 (Fairforest Road) | ||
| Arcadia–Saxon– Southern Shops tripoint | 3.090– 3.260 | 4.973– 5.246 | 72A | 3 |   SC 295 south / New Cut Road – Spartanburg Community College | Northern terminus of SC 295 | |
| Saxon–Southern Shops line | 3.812 | 6.135 | 72B | 4A | Broadcast Drive | Southbound exit only | |
| Southern Shops | 4.120– 4.203 | 6.630– 6.764 | 72C | 4B |     SC 56 (Asheville Highway) to US 176 west | Signed as exit 4 northbound; roundabout interchange | |
| 4.540– 4.710 | 7.306– 7.580 | 73A | 5A |    I-585 south / US 176 east (Pine Street, Downtown) | Northern terminus of I-585 | ||
| Valley Falls | 4.853 | 7.810 | 73B 74 | 5B | US 176 west – Inman, USC Upstate | No access from northbound I-85 Business to westbound US 176 | |
| 4.930 | 7.934 | Milliken Road | Southbound entrance via N. Campus Bivd. and northbound exit | ||||
| 5.700– 5.870 | 9.173– 9.447 | 75 | 6 |  SC 9 (Boiling Springs Road) | |||
| | 7.000– 7.170 | 11.265– 11.539 | 76 | 7 | Road 191 (Bryant Road) | ||
| | 8.770 | 14.114 | — | — | I-85 – Greenville, Charlotte | Northern terminus; trumpet interchange | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b "Highway Logmile Report". South Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 2003). National Highway System: Spartanburg SC (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ a b Google (February 8, 2013). "Interstate 85 Business Loop" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
- ^ a b c South Carolina Department of Transportation (1972). General Highway Map, Spartanburg County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). South Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ South Carolina Department of Transportation (1957). General Highway Map, Spartanburg County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). South Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
- ^ Montgomery, Bob (July 7, 2021). "Section of Business 85 in Spartanburg to close for two years for bridge replacements". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ Ward, Hannah (October 26, 2023). "After 2 years of construction closure, Upstate interstate reopening delayed, SCDOT says". WYFF. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Shuler, Hallie (December 5, 2023). "I-85 Business reopening to traffic in Spartanburg County". WHNS. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Limon, Janice (December 6, 2023). "Traffic alert: I-85 Business reopens after 2 years of construction". WYFF. Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
- ^ Lavender, Chris (February 10, 2023). "Spartanburg I-85 Business bridge replacement to be completed this year". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
External links edit
Media related to Interstate 85 Business (South Carolina) at Wikimedia Commons- I-85 Bus. at Virginia Highways' South Carolina Highways Annex
