SC: I-95 widening projects

[amroad17]

^ This is good news to hear.  This will be some undertaking in that 70 mile stretch, albeit for good.  SCDOT is currently working on widening I-26 from just west of Exit 85 to where the 6-lane begins around Exit 101.  So, when all of the widening on I-26 is finished between what is currently being worked on and what will be worked on in the future, there will around 135 miles of continuous 6-lane freeway.

The first 33 miles on I-95 will help immensely as some traffic does head toward Charleston on US 17 North at Exit 33.  The transition could be a bit smoother than it currently is in Pooler and Port Wentworth as traffic goes from 3 lanes to 2 at the Savannah River state line bridge.

[NJRoadfan]

I am not aware of any traffic issues north of I-26 because I do not travel that way, but from what my father has mentioned to me in his travels from Lakeland, FL to Fuquay-Varina, NC to visit my brother is that the issues he would encounter would start north of I-20 and be intermittent between there and I-40.

This is basically my NC-FL leg of the trip. Leaving Davenport, FL at 5am, I can generally make it to the Triangle by 2-3pm depending on how many times I stopped. I've only done the trip north on a weekday, even then its a mess in southern SC. Weekends, if you leave early, you can avoid most of the SC traffic.

It is good to see North Carolina begin to widen I-95.  I imagine is must be stressful to regularly travel I-95 anywhere along the East Coast based on what I have read.  The last time I was on I-95 for a good stretch was in 2005 taking a delivery from Alexandria, VA to Miami Beach.  It did not seem very stressful then, but that was 17 years ago.

Once you get north of the Capital Beltway, it generally isn't too bad mid-day and decent alternatives open up (US-50/301, MD-3/I-97). Midday is generally not a problem traveling through NJ now that the NJ Turnpike is widened.

[wriddle082]

Bumping and renaming this thread as it deals with I-95 SC widening.

[sprjus4]

^ I don't think it renames the thread unless the OP does it.

[Crown Victoria]

Widening of the first 33 miles of I-95 coming north from GA is still on track and should be completed within the next 10 years, but also in the early planning stages is widening of I-95 between Florence and NC.

https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article271288417.html

With the rebuild of the Lake Marion bridges and the I-26/I-95 interchange also coming within the next few years, there will be much to look forward to for SC's part of I-95.

[rickmastfan67]

^ I don't think it renames the thread unless the OP does it.

Bingo.  That or unless a mod does it.

[wriddle082]

Here's a good article I just found:

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/interstate-95-from-the-georgia-line-is-falling-apart-sc-says-it-has-a-goal/article_44a1f980-b154-11ed-92a9-a388a9418abe.html?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

[VTGoose]

Here's a good article I just found:

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/interstate-95-from-the-georgia-line-is-falling-apart-sc-says-it-has-a-goal/article_44a1f980-b154-11ed-92a9-a388a9418abe.html?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Sen. Campsen isn't wrong. Just did the stretch from I-26 to Georgia and spent a lot of time in the left lane to avoid bad pavement. There are more replacement slabs in the right lane than in past trips but there isn't always a smooth transition from pavement to new slab and back again. There was also a long stretch (sorry, don't have mileposts) where a lot of silt fencing has been installed along the edge of the right of way, like something big is going to start in the way of construction.

[Jim]

Yes, as I write I am in the passenger seat on a ride up I-95 in SC.  Stretches of right lane for a while here just north of Walterboro are really rough.

[NJRoadfan]

Just finished a round trip in SC. The entire northbound stretch in Dillon County is TERRIBLE. The southbound side here is just the opposite, very smooth concrete.

As for widening, still nice and busy between the GA Line and MP 40 during the morning.

[RoadPelican]

I remember driving thru Dillon County in March 2009 and the northbound pavement was awful then too!

[NJRoadfan]

Looking at streetview, it looks like it was last repaved in the middle of 2009.... so its been almost 14 years! Granted the area doesn't see freeze-thaw cycles like the north, but its way past due for a mill and repave. Part of the road are worn down to the milled surface!

[Gnutella]

Here's a good article I just found:

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/interstate-95-from-the-georgia-line-is-falling-apart-sc-says-it-has-a-goal/article_44a1f980-b154-11ed-92a9-a388a9418abe.html?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Sen. Campsen isn't wrong. Just did the stretch from I-26 to Georgia and spent a lot of time in the left lane to avoid bad pavement. There are more replacement slabs in the right lane than in past trips but there isn't always a smooth transition from pavement to new slab and back again. There was also a long stretch (sorry, don't have mileposts) where a lot of silt fencing has been installed along the edge of the right of way, like something big is going to start in the way of construction.

That reminds me of I-20 from Augusta to Columbia when I drove on it 20 years ago. I hate lingering in the left lane, but I felt forced to because the right lane looked and felt like I was driving on a shifting sidewalk.

[I-55]

Here's a good article I just found:

https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/interstate-95-from-the-georgia-line-is-falling-apart-sc-says-it-has-a-goal/article_44a1f980-b154-11ed-92a9-a388a9418abe.html?mibextid=Zxz2cZ

Sen. Campsen isn't wrong. Just did the stretch from I-26 to Georgia and spent a lot of time in the left lane to avoid bad pavement. There are more replacement slabs in the right lane than in past trips but there isn't always a smooth transition from pavement to new slab and back again. There was also a long stretch (sorry, don't have mileposts) where a lot of silt fencing has been installed along the edge of the right of way, like something big is going to start in the way of construction.

That reminds me of I-20 from Augusta to Columbia when I drove on it 20 years ago. I hate lingering in the left lane, but I felt forced to because the right lane looked and felt like I was driving on a shifting sidewalk.

Similar to I-59 between Birmingham and Georgia - to quote my mom, "Go ahead and move to the left lane, you're on I-59, it'll be less bumpy"

[architect77]

Can someone explain to me why SC's overhead signs angled to face the sky and why they add a blank green board underneath portions of some sign assemblies (below a shorter sign on a 2-signed gantry)?

I do like how they still have the overheads lighted on I-85 in Greenville which looks great at night.

[WashuOtaku]

Can someone explain to me why SC's overhead signs angled to face the sky and why they add a blank green board underneath portions of some sign assemblies (below a shorter sign on a 2-signed gantry)?

I do like how they still have the overheads lighted on I-85 in Greenville which looks great at night.

On the alignment, I am guessing its for light/sun glare not reflecting into driver eyes.

[Mapmikey]

Can someone explain to me why SC's overhead signs angled to face the sky and why they add a blank green board underneath portions of some sign assemblies (below a shorter sign on a 2-signed gantry)?

I do like how they still have the overheads lighted on I-85 in Greenville which looks great at night.

On the alignment, I am guessing its for light/sun glare not reflecting into driver eyes.

The blank green boards are installed when both the BGS has lighting AND when it is not mounted on an overpass.  Presumably this is prevent the light from streaming past the sign.  They have been doing this for at least 30 years.

This is the 2007 standard spec for the BGSs (pg. 567 of the
manual) but it does not say why:

Orient the face of overhead signs 3 degrees from vertical, the front bottom edge being forward of the front top edge, and at 90 degrees to oncoming traffic. On horizontal curves and just beyond curves, ensure that this 90-degree angle is measured from a line extending between the vertical centerline of the sign, or group of signs in the installation and an observation point on the center of the lane or lanes that the signs serve. Determine the observation point as specified for ground signs

[architect77]

Can someone explain to me why SC's overhead signs angled to face the sky and why they add a blank green board underneath portions of some sign assemblies (below a shorter sign on a 2-signed gantry)?

I do like how they still have the overheads lighted on I-85 in Greenville which looks great at night.

On the alignment, I am guessing its for light/sun glare not reflecting into driver eyes.

The blank green boards are installed when both the BGS has lighting AND when it is not mounted on an overpass.  Presumably this is prevent the light from streaming past the sign.  They have been doing this for at least 30 years.

This is the 2007 standard spec for the BGSs (pg. 567 of the
manual) but it does not say why:

Orient the face of overhead signs 3 degrees from vertical, the front bottom edge being forward of the front top edge, and at 90 degrees to oncoming traffic. On horizontal curves and just beyond curves, ensure that this 90-degree angle is measured from a line extending between the vertical centerline of the sign, or group of signs in the installation and an observation point on the center of the lane or lanes that the signs serve. Determine the observation point as specified for ground signs

Thank you for that answer. It's interesting because some of them seem tilted more that 3 degrees upward, a lot more. And then neighboring Georgia would have them facing downward.

Georgia was the first nearby state to adopt the highly reflective overheads which might mean a downward angle would capture cars' headlamps easier.

I like SC's lighted signs, and it's a shame that NC ceased lighting the overheads many years ago.

I've noticed another unfortunate cost-cutting measure in NC which is mounting the overheads directly to the gantry instead of them being all aligned at the bottom affixed to an intermediate frame that's then attached to the gantry.

[wriddle082]

SC's lighted signs may be nice, but their general lack of freeway lighting in general is terrible.  For example, not one bit of I-77 in SC is lit.  Not one single interchange, ramp, or wide suburban stretch of road.  The closest is the recently widened SC 460 overpass that has lighting that serves the DDI bridge only.

[Plutonic Panda]

Article from EW about the southern widening which will be nice: https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/interstate-95-in-south-carolinas-low-country-to-be-widened-starting-in-late-2024/60858

[VTGoose]

Article from EW about the southern widening which will be nice: https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/interstate-95-in-south-carolinas-low-country-to-be-widened-starting-in-late-2024/60858

While I'm glad to see something finally starting to happen, I wonder about the sanity of Bradley Reynolds, SCDOT's project manager on the I-95 lane expansion, based on his comment in the article:

"After the new lanes are installed, he said traffic will flow much smoother, the roads will be able to handle higher traffic capacities, and drivers will be safer."

True, this might work most days for that first 8 miles but on bad days it will only move the clog of traffic a little further north from the current backups in Georgia as the highway goes from 3 lanes to 2.

I don't know what caused the exodus northward on Sunday a week ago but traffic was a mess on I-95 from Brunswick, Ga. on. We did a lot of back road travel to get to Richmond Hill, where I decided to aim for Ga. 21 to work toward Columbia. Waze sent us down I-16 as an alternative to reach U.S. 17 to Hardeeville, which worked out better once we got past a bad wreck, since it gave a straight shot to U.S. 321 (I-95 was a parking lot as we crossed it). It probably took less time to get to I-77 than had we tried I-95 and it was a much less stressful drive. Other than some long rough stretches of pavement and having to slow for a couple of towns, it was a nice drive.

[wriddle082]

Not directly tied to I-95 widening, but there are plans to replace the I-95 bridges over Lake Marion in Santee.  Public meeting coming up on 6/1.

http://info2.scdot.org/SCDOTPress/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=3398

Didn't see a whole lot of details, but hopefully the replacement spans will be wide enough to accommodate six lanes, even if not initially striped for it.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

https://i-95-over-lake-marion-scdot.hub.arcgis.com/pages/overview-of-proejct

The proposed Bridge Replacements would include:

• Removal of the existing northbound and southbound I-95 bridges once the new structures are complete.
• Removal of abandoned in-water wooden pilings to the west of the current I-95 bridges and east of the US 301 bridge.
• Two 12-foot travel lanes would be provided in both the southbound and northbound directions.
• A 10-foot minimum inside shoulder (shoulders may be wider due to staging requirements) and 12-foot outside shoulder would be provided.
• There will be a barrier separated 14-foot shared use path for pedestrians and bicyclists on the southbound bridge only.
• The bridge deck widths would be large enough to accommodate an additional 12-foot travel lane in the future, if needed.

[Plutonic Panda]

Is that bridge to the NW of the I-95 twin bridges open for walking and biking?