South Carolina

[1995hoo]

I noticed that too, they are gone.  I had been meaning to look back at news reports to confirm that Ridgeland had the cameras done away with (before they did away with Ridgeland), but haven't had a chance to do that.

I will still never stop at any Ridgeland exit for motorist services, on principal.  Whenever I go through that area (these days it's at least two round trips per month), I make sure to get my gas in Hardeeville, or closer to my home along I-26 where it's a lot cheaper.

I hadn't seen the news reports about them being gone before I drove through there, so I just slowed down to the speed limit in order to play it safe, and then after we got home I did a search and found that they were gone. But in a town that pulls a stunt like that I figure that they're still going to be out of control in trying to write tickets, and I guessed right!

I agree with you regarding not stopping there. Our trip earlier this month was the first time I had driven through there since 1991, and my gas gauge was starting to get low and my wife was getting hungry, but I said I would not stop in a chickenshit town like that and she understood my point.

Quoting some old posts because we drove through Ridgeland on our way south last weekend (Saturday, November 23), and the town cops were out on I-95 even at night. I was sailing along at a bit over 80 mph just north of the town limit when I saw the town cop was in the median just "inside" the town limit sign. I would have slowed down anyway, but seeing him ensured I was doing 68 mph when I passed the sign. I'm certain he clocked me at 82 or so, but there wasn't much he could do....he pulled out anyway without his flashing lights on, but I guess he knew I was onto him because he suddenly floored it past me. Asshole.

With a town like that, I kind of think setting a geofenced reminder on one's smartphone or similar device isn't a bad idea if your attention to speedtrap towns tends to wander.

[froggie]

I'm pretty sure there's an app for that...

[1995hoo]

I'm pretty sure there's an app for that...

What do you recommend? I have Waze on my phone, but I seldom use it.

[PColumbus73]

Having traveled to Florida over the weekend, I strongly believe that I-95 needs to be widened to 6 lanes from the Georgia state line to at least US 21 (Exit 42) or SC Route 64 (Exit 57) in Walterboro.

[JamesT456]

I noticed that too, they are gone.  I had been meaning to look back at news reports to confirm that Ridgeland had the cameras done away with (before they did away with Ridgeland), but haven't had a chance to do that.

I will still never stop at any Ridgeland exit for motorist services, on principal.  Whenever I go through that area (these days it's at least two round trips per month), I make sure to get my gas in Hardeeville, or closer to my home along I-26 where it's a lot cheaper.

I hadn't seen the news reports about them being gone before I drove through there, so I just slowed down to the speed limit in order to play it safe, and then after we got home I did a search and found that they were gone. But in a town that pulls a stunt like that I figure that they're still going to be out of control in trying to write tickets, and I guessed right!

I agree with you regarding not stopping there. Our trip earlier this month was the first time I had driven through there since 1991, and my gas gauge was starting to get low and my wife was getting hungry, but I said I would not stop in a chickenshit town like that and she understood my point.

Quoting some old posts because we drove through Ridgeland on our way south last weekend (Saturday, November 23), and the town cops were out on I-95 even at night. I was sailing along at a bit over 80 mph just north of the town limit when I saw the town cop was in the median just "inside" the town limit sign. I would have slowed down anyway, but seeing him ensured I was doing 68 mph when I passed the sign. I'm certain he clocked me at 82 or so, but there wasn't much he could do....he pulled out anyway without his flashing lights on, but I guess he knew I was onto him because he suddenly floored it past me. Asshole.

With a town like that, I kind of think setting a geofenced reminder on one's smartphone or similar device isn't a bad idea if your attention to speedtrap towns tends to wander.

In the case of those speed camera on I-95 in Ridgeland, SC government passed a law banning speed cameras in June 2011.
Link: http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/06/17/1694890/haley-signs-speed-camera-ban-into.html#storylink=misearch

A few months before in Nov of 2010 while i was visiting the Savannah area, I was coming from Savannah to Yemassee, & seen the speed camera under one of the overpass with that trailer next to it, & an ridgeland cop car next to it. The next year in  Nov of 2011 I did not see the speed camera, but at the time did not know about the speed ban until I looked online since I was back home in Illinois.

There is an 4 part series on youtube with the now former mayor of ridgeland(ousted in Nov of 2011) defending the use of speed cameras in Ridgeland.

Also I-95 really needed to be widen to 6 lanes to Savannah, every time I drove it, lots of traffic is on it.

[cpzilliacus]

Also I-95 really needed to be widen to 6 lanes to Savannah, every time I drove it, lots of traffic is on it.

As far north as the U.S. 17 "split" south of Yemassee (Exit 33), or maybe even to Yemassee proper (S.C. 68, Exit 38), I agree with you.

But especially between I-26 (Exit 86) near Holly Hill and I-20 (Exit 160) near Florence, there is no need (IMO) to widen.  It is the most-desolate section of I-95 I know, save for the northernmost segment between Bangor, Maine and the Canadian border at Houlton.

[PColumbus73]

Also I-95 really needed to be widen to 6 lanes to Savannah, every time I drove it, lots of traffic is on it.

As far north as the U.S. 17 "split" south of Yemassee (Exit 33), or maybe even to Yemassee proper (S.C. 68, Exit 38), I agree with you.

But especially between I-26 (Exit 86) near Holly Hill and I-20 (Exit 160) near Florence, there is no need (IMO) to widen.  It is the most-desolate section of I-95 I know, save for the northernmost segment between Bangor, Maine and the Canadian border at Houlton.

Agreed, although when I came through I-95 last weekend, traffic was pretty heavy from the GA State Line to around Walterboro.

[Alex]

Also I-95 really needed to be widen to 6 lanes to Savannah, every time I drove it, lots of traffic is on it.

As far north as the U.S. 17 "split" south of Yemassee (Exit 33), or maybe even to Yemassee proper (S.C. 68, Exit 38), I agree with you.

But especially between I-26 (Exit 86) near Holly Hill and I-20 (Exit 160) near Florence, there is no need (IMO) to widen.  It is the most-desolate section of I-95 I know, save for the northernmost segment between Bangor, Maine and the Canadian border at Houlton.

Agreed, although when I came through I-95 last weekend, traffic was pretty heavy from the GA State Line to around Walterboro.

The narrow stretch from Hardeeville to Ridgeland is especially bad. I think the proximity of the tree line in the median to the travel lanes scares motorists into driving slower than they need to. That just compounds the already high volumes for that stretch. Oftentimes I have used US 17/278 and old US 17 to avoid this stretch. Even with the lower speeds, I find it easier to handle than the often "breaking for no reason" syndrome that rules that portion of freeway. Add a near incident years ago due to the Move Over Law, where vehicles piled into the left-lane with little regard to those already there on that stretch, and the surface route is even more appealing. Plus the old section of US 17 is hardly used.

[froggie]

We discussed widening just over a month ago upthread.

[Mapmikey]

I'm curious as to what they will do with SC 5 which follows 21 Business through the part that will be eliminated from the state highway system...

Mapmikey

The 2013 York County map has been updated at SCDOT.org and shows what the reroutes are that resulted from taking some of US 21 Bus/SC 5 out of the state highway system:

SC 5 has been rerouted to follow SC 901 south then SC 121 north back to US 21.  This had been posted as SC 5 TRUCK in GMSV.
Main St between SC 5-901 and SC 322 (was SC 5) is now SC 5 CONN
Cherry Rd northeast of Main St (was US 21 Bus) is now an extended SC 322
Main St from SC 322 southeast to Columbia Ave (was SC 5) is now S-46-2.
Main St from Columbia Av southeast to Charlotte Ave (some SC 5, some S-46-1) is removed from the highway system.
Black St between Main St and Charlotte Ave (was SC 5) is removed from the highway system
Black St between Charlotte Ave and SC 5-121 (was US 21 Bus/SC 5) is now S-46-118.
SC 72 north has been truncated to SC 122, which now end at each other.  It appears SC 72 Business just became SC 72 and 72 Bypass removed altogether.
Oakland Ave from Black St to SC 122 (was US 21 Bus) is removed from the highway system.
Oakland Ave from SC 122 to SC 322 (was US 21 Bus) is now S-46-115.

http://dbw.scdot.org/GISMapping/pdfs/City/Rock_Hill_City.pdf

Mapmikey

[WashuOtaku]

The 2013 York County map has been updated at SCDOT.org and shows what the reroutes are that resulted from taking some of US 21 Bus/SC 5 out of the state highway system:

SC 5 has been rerouted to follow SC 901 south then SC 121 north back to US 21.  This had been posted as SC 5 TRUCK in GMSV.
Main St between SC 5-901 and SC 322 (was SC 5) is now SC 5 CONN
Cherry Rd northeast of Main St (was US 21 Bus) is now an extended SC 322
Main St from SC 322 southeast to Columbia Ave (was SC 5) is now S-46-2.
Main St from Columbia Av southeast to Charlotte Ave (some SC 5, some S-46-1) is removed from the highway system.
Black St between Main St and Charlotte Ave (was SC 5) is removed from the highway system
Black St between Charlotte Ave and SC 5-121 (was US 21 Bus/SC 5) is now S-46-118.
SC 72 north has been truncated to SC 122, which now end at each other.  It appears SC 72 Business just became SC 72 and 72 Bypass removed altogether.
Oakland Ave from Black St to SC 122 (was US 21 Bus) is removed from the highway system.
Oakland Ave from SC 122 to SC 322 (was US 21 Bus) is now S-46-115.

http://dbw.scdot.org/GISMapping/pdfs/City/Rock_Hill_City.pdf

Mapmikey

So many changes to make the city of Rock Hill happy.  I haven't seen these updates yet in the wild, signage on the streets are poor as is.

[rickmastfan67]

The 2013 York County map has been updated at SCDOT.org and shows what the reroutes are that resulted from taking some of US 21 Bus/SC 5 out of the state highway system:

SC 5 has been rerouted to follow SC 901 south then SC 121 north back to US 21.  This had been posted as SC 5 TRUCK in GMSV.
Main St between SC 5-901 and SC 322 (was SC 5) is now SC 5 CONN
Cherry Rd northeast of Main St (was US 21 Bus) is now an extended SC 322
Main St from SC 322 southeast to Columbia Ave (was SC 5) is now S-46-2.
Main St from Columbia Av southeast to Charlotte Ave (some SC 5, some S-46-1) is removed from the highway system.
Black St between Main St and Charlotte Ave (was SC 5) is removed from the highway system
Black St between Charlotte Ave and SC 5-121 (was US 21 Bus/SC 5) is now S-46-118.
SC 72 north has been truncated to SC 122, which now end at each other.  It appears SC 72 Business just became SC 72 and 72 Bypass removed altogether.
Oakland Ave from Black St to SC 122 (was US 21 Bus) is removed from the highway system.
Oakland Ave from SC 122 to SC 322 (was US 21 Bus) is now S-46-115.

http://dbw.scdot.org/GISMapping/pdfs/City/Rock_Hill_City.pdf

Mapmikey

So many changes to make the city of Rock Hill happy.  I haven't seen these updates yet in the wild, signage on the streets are poor as is.

According to this post over @ CHM, the US-21 Business signage has been removed.

[WashuOtaku]

According to this post over @ CHM, the US-21 Business signage has been removed.

A friend of mine in Rock Hill said new signs have recently appeared along Cherry Road for SC 322, so it appears they have been busy last few weeks.  When I have time, I'll drive down to Rock Hill and check'em out.

[Grzrd]

This article reports that some legislators are considering tolling a portion of I-95 and I-73 between Conway and Myrtle Beach in order to raise money for road repairs, and some are unhappy with the current structure of SCDOT:

House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister .... House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford ....
While there was plenty of talk at the media legislative workshop about education, healthcare, ethics and reforming government, lawmakers also were in the mood to talk concrete - South Carolina's roads and bridges.
"I-26 between the I-385 split and Charleston is a ticking time bomb," Rutherford said. "The trucking association says, "˜we know we might have to pay more gas tax'," to effect major road repairs in South Carolina.
Gov. Haley has said she will veto any increase in the state's gasoline tax, and Bannister said there are not enough votes in the House of Representatives to override such a veto. Still, Bannister said, the legislature's action last year approving a bond for road and bridges repair was the equivalent of a 3.5 cents per gallon tax increase for drivers in South Carolina.
Some legislators said they would be in favor of toll roads - a portion of I-95, a potential I-73 between Conway and Myrtle Beach, for instance - to raise money for road repairs. Tolls imposed on interstates would produce revenue only for repairs to the interstate highways. But, lawmakers said, these repairs then would not fall to the state, freeing money for use on secondary roads.
"For the smaller counties,"  Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, said, "dealing with DOT (the South Carolina Department of Transportation), it is difficult to move them forward to do anything for the rural areas. Six projects are being done with the bonded money ($1.6 billion over 20 years). All are worthy projects, but they are not the numbers one through six (ranked in importance) projects. Some are where the (highway) commissioners live.
"I won't vote for a gas tax (hike) as long as this is the way DOT is structured."
"It starts with funding DOT, then restructuring,"  said Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson. "It's a Band-aid approach, all we've done is put air in the tires. We have funded repairing 90 bridges in 33 counties, but look at the size of our system. It's the third to fifth largest state-maintained system (in the country). We need to give some of these projects back to local governments."
Making a reference to South Carolina's refusal to accept federal Medicaid expansion dollars, Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, said of revenues to repair roads and bridges, "Even if money fell from the sky, we wouldn't take it."

[D-Dey65]

I can certainly agree with widening I-95 in South Carolina, even if it's not throughout the whole state. Here's an interesting thing though; Every time I drive into South Carolina from Georgia, I have no trouble getting in at normal speed, and the traffic flow is just fine even as it narrows down from six to four lanes. When I go in the opposite direction. I always see big-ass traffic jams going north.

I figure the time of day must have something to do with it.

[Zzonkmiles]

I can certainly agree with widening I-95 in South Carolina, even if it's not throughout the whole state. Here's an interesting thing though; Every time I drive into South Carolina from Georgia, I have no trouble getting in at normal speed, and the traffic flow is just fine even as it narrows down from six to four lanes. When I go in the opposite direction. I always see big-ass traffic jams going north.

I figure the time of day must have something to do with it.

I think widening I-95 to six lanes from I-26 to the Georgia border makes a lot of sense. You have a lot of drivers going from Florida to Ohio and Michigan who have to use I-26 to reach I-77 so they can go back home. All these long-distance travelers plus truck traffic and finally local traffic makes four lanes inadequate.  As for the northern part of I-95 in SC, the last time I drove here, I saw some road construction north of the I-20/95 split, so maybe 95 is being widened to six lanes there too.

The part of I-95 between I-20 and I-26 is quite rural and is the least urgent section of I-95 that needs to be widened.

[Zzonkmiles]

A sad commentary on South Carolina's roads:  http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2014/07/10/report-sc-had-most-fatalities-on-rural-roads-in-2012/12468463/

Seems like South Carolina is very good at being #1 at all the bad things.

Here are some other links from WLTX-19:

Why SC's roads stink:  http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/05/19/sc-roads-funding-less-reasons/9300111/

The true cost of fixing SC's roads:  http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/05/04/whats-the-real-cost-to-fix-scs-roads/8690519/

Your way to provide feedback on SC's roads:  http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/04/11/website-roads-opinions-sc/7622773/

[The Nature Boy]

What kind of road projects would you like to see in SC? ....

Widen I-95 to six lanes (three per side) for its full length throughout the state. Same also applies to North Carolina, although obviously the Lumberton area would pose some problems there.

I recognize the high cost of a full widening, so in the interest of focusing the improvement in a way that could help move traffic, I'd focus first on the northbound carriageway starting at the Georgia state line. Traffic always backs up in Georgia around weekends with heavy beach traffic because the road narrows. I'd set a priority of widening South Carolina's I-95 at least to the exit for Hilton Head (to start) and then up to the US-17 exit south of Yemassee where Charleston-bound traffic peels off. I view northbound as the higher priority than southbound because of the bottleneck created by the road narrowing at the state line (in other words, while I often hit inexplicable slowdowns around Hardeeville going south, the number of lanes is not the reason).

The second (and IMO higher-priority) widening would be from the end of the six lane section of I-95 at Florence (Exit 170) to the North Carolina border at U.S. 301/U.S. 501 at Dillon and South of the Border.

Is that really a good priority though? I've driven I-95 in Dillon County numerous times and never ran into any traffic delays. I don't know if any extra lane is needed.

[PColumbus73]

I can certainly agree with widening I-95 in South Carolina, even if it's not throughout the whole state. Here's an interesting thing though; Every time I drive into South Carolina from Georgia, I have no trouble getting in at normal speed, and the traffic flow is just fine even as it narrows down from six to four lanes. When I go in the opposite direction. I always see big-ass traffic jams going north.

I figure the time of day must have something to do with it.

I think widening I-95 to six lanes from I-26 to the Georgia border makes a lot of sense. You have a lot of drivers going from Florida to Ohio and Michigan who have to use I-26 to reach I-77 so they can go back home. All these long-distance travelers plus truck traffic and finally local traffic makes four lanes inadequate.  As for the northern part of I-95 in SC, the last time I drove here, I saw some road construction north of the I-20/95 split, so maybe 95 is being widened to six lanes there too.

The part of I-95 between I-20 and I-26 is quite rural and is the least urgent section of I-95 that needs to be widened.

SCDOT has been working on rebuilding Exit 170 (SC 327) in Florence, the north end of the 6-laned portion of I-95. They need to revert the speed limit back to 70 on the 6-laned portion. 60 mph doesn't make sense in Florence County.

[Zzonkmiles]

SCDOT has been working on rebuilding Exit 170 (SC 327) in Florence, the north end of the 6-laned portion of I-95. They need to revert the speed limit back to 70 on the 6-laned portion. 60 mph doesn't make sense in Florence County.

I thought there was a state law that set the speed limit for all interstates in urban areas at 60. This was the compromise that allowed the interstate speed limits in rural areas to be raised to 70. That's why the speed limit on I-126 was lowered from 65 to 60 a few years ago, for example.

[PColumbus73]

I wouldn't consider I-95 through Florence an urban area. I-85 going through Spartanburg is 70mph and it is about the same distance from the city center as I-95 is from Florence.

[WashuOtaku]

SCDOT has been working on rebuilding Exit 170 (SC 327) in Florence, the north end of the 6-laned portion of I-95. They need to revert the speed limit back to 70 on the 6-laned portion. 60 mph doesn't make sense in Florence County.

I thought there was a state law that set the speed limit for all interstates in urban areas at 60. This was the compromise that allowed the interstate speed limits in rural areas to be raised to 70. That's why the speed limit on I-126 was lowered from 65 to 60 a few years ago, for example.

I do not believe this is true, as this is the first I have heard of that.

[Zzonkmiles]

SCDOT has been working on rebuilding Exit 170 (SC 327) in Florence, the north end of the 6-laned portion of I-95. They need to revert the speed limit back to 70 on the 6-laned portion. 60 mph doesn't make sense in Florence County.

I thought there was a state law that set the speed limit for all interstates in urban areas at 60. This was the compromise that allowed the interstate speed limits in rural areas to be raised to 70. That's why the speed limit on I-126 was lowered from 65 to 60 a few years ago, for example.

I do not believe this is true, as this is the first I have heard of that.

Hmmmm...I was living near Columbia when they raised the speed limit to 70. But at the same time the speed limit outside of city limits was raised to 70, the speed limit inside city limits was lowered to 60. The speed limit on SC 277, I-126 and I-77 used to be 65, but it became 60. (I-77 still has a 65mph zone near the junction with I-26). I seem to remember there being an article about this in The State newspaper, but I can't find it.

This announcement from the state legislature is what I have been able to find so far:
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess113_1999-2000/bills/3188.htm

The key lines are:

(1) seventy miles an hour on the interstate highway system and other freeways where official signs giving notice of this speed are posted;

(2) sixty miles an hour on multilane divided primary highways where official signs giving notice of this speed limit are posted;

(3) fifty-five miles an hour in other locations or on other sections of highways and unpaved roads are limited to the speed of forty miles an hour; and

So my guess is that SC 277 was considered a "multilane divided primary highway" even though it currently meets interstate standards. That could explain why the speed limit was lowered from 65 to 60. However, this would not explain why the speed limit on I-126 dropped from 65 to 60 because I-126 is definitely part of the interstate highway system--unless the presence of jersey barriers on urban interstates (rather than the grassy medians on rural interstates) governed whether a speed limit would be set at 60 or 70.

If I can find more information, I'll post it.

[1995hoo]

What kind of time can one expect to make on US-17 between the North Carolina state line and Charleston (perhaps using the new SC-31 to bypass Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach)? I've used the southern segment from I-526 to I-95 but never the northern part (below North Myrtle Beach, anyway, and I haven't been there since May 1995). Obviously you can't drive as fast as you can on the Interstate, but from the maps it looks largely open with the exception of a few towns. How much do those towns slow down the drive? While I got an estimate from Google Maps, that doesn't really factor in "real life" stuff like unsynchronized lights or speedtraps.

Thanks in advance.

[NE2]

Pooing on US 17 is cool.

Never been there, but one obvious alternate jumps out if you don't want to risk the Myrtle Beach sprawl: US 701 to Conway, then SC 90-Wampee Road-Hickman Road.