South Carolina

[Mapmikey]

Here may be the only I-326 shields to have ever existed...

https://www.facebook.com/SCDOT/photos/a.1527282967543114.1073741830.1520684621536282/2034568800147859/?type=3&theater

[D-Dey65]

Next time, why don't you guys bring plenty of bug spray!

Maybe the construction workers who drive all the cement mixers stationed there should take your advice.

And why is SCDOT tearing down the tree-lined median between Exits 22 and 28? Is there some widening project being carried out that I missed?

[froggie]

^ Given precedent elsewhere, "tearing down the tree-lined median" is likely a result of FHWA requirements for clear zones.  In short, SCDOT had the choice between clearing trees out or adding guardrail...and clearly chose the former for the section you mentioned.

[VTGoose]

^ Given precedent elsewhere, "tearing down the tree-lined median" is likely a result of FHWA requirements for clear zones.  In short, SCDOT had the choice between clearing trees out or adding guardrail...and clearly chose the former for the section you mentioned.

Wait, what? So you have a small forest in the middle of a busy highway that will convert carbon dioxide to oxygen and the best plan is to log what you can and destroy the rest? How does that make sense? Given the density of the trees and underbrush, crossing into oncoming lanes is pretty impossible (although hitting a tree may do more damage than running into a cable guardrail).

Bruce, who passed through there on Wednesday, behind idiots who didn't understand "faster traffic in the left lane" and trucks passing each other with a 1 MPH speed difference

[froggie]

Not saying it's right, but that's what state DOT's are doing in response to FHWA clear zone mandates.

I'll also mention that there were some pretty spectacular fatal crashes into the median trees along I-20/59 east of Meridian, MS before MDOT took the trees out.

[Mapmikey]

Not saying it's right, but that's what state DOT's are doing in response to FHWA clear zone mandates.

I'll also mention that there were some pretty spectacular fatal crashes into the median trees along I-20/59 east of Meridian, MS before MDOT took the trees out.

IMO they will still need to add guardrail in the median somewhere for this part of I-95 where the median is not very wide.

2 different accidents have killed people I knew in head on collisions on I-26.  One was definitely because a car could get all the way into the oncoming lanes without impedence (the other was near Exit 220 Romney St around 1990 or 1991 where a truck in the left lane struck a vehicle in the on-coming left lane).

I've also witnessed an SUV manage to cut across both directions of I-26 where there didn't used to be anything in the median (there is now a concrete barrier...this was around MM 209).  The SUV managed not to hit anybody else before flipping and throwing one of its tires back across the freeway.

[VTGoose]

Not saying it's right, but that's what state DOT's are doing in response to FHWA clear zone mandates.

I'll also mention that there were some pretty spectacular fatal crashes into the median trees along I-20/59 east of Meridian, MS before MDOT took the trees out.

Sounds like a trumph administration directive -- "I don't like trees, cut them all down!" and the interstates were easier locations to start on than national parks and forests.

It would be nice if South Carolina would keep going with the median work and add additional lanes to I-95. As expected, it sucked big time on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (there are a lot of people who don't know how to drive who hit the road on that day). On Monday, when most of the holiday traffic had died down, there was still a problem with two instead of three lanes. There was an 8-mile stretch where I traveled in the left lane, bouncing between 68 and 71 MPH behind a truck that was passing traffic in the right lane at a 1-MPH differential.

Bruce in Blacksburg

[Mapmikey]

Check out this SCDOT video from the early 1960s...

Some highway shields shown and some really good video in the last 3 minutes showing the I-85/585 interchange from multiple angles.

Contains BGS shield styles I had not seen before in SC...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJUlt8kur8

[Alex]

Check out this SCDOT video from the early 1960s...

Some highway shields shown and some really good video in the last 3 minutes showing the I-85/585 interchange from multiple angles.

Contains BGS shield styles I had not seen before in SC...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJUlt8kur8

Thanks for sharing this Mike. I watched the entire video and loved all the examples of old signs, bridges and freeway design. Definitely worth watching for any highway historian.

[sparker]

Check out this SCDOT video from the early 1960s...

Some highway shields shown and some really good video in the last 3 minutes showing the I-85/585 interchange from multiple angles.

Contains BGS shield styles I had not seen before in SC...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJUlt8kur8

Thanks for sharing this Mike. I watched the entire video and loved all the examples of old signs, bridges and freeway design. Definitely worth watching for any highway historian.

From the film it appears that many of the ramp facilities in the early years were basically RIRO's enhanced with short approach lanes -- probably to avoid as much adjacent property taking as possible.  That must have been a design that was modified or upgraded early on; I don't recall seeing any such configurations either when I first came through in the mid-80's or ever since (good thing!).  Even the old RIRO's on US/CA 99 in the San Joaquin Valley didn't feature such sharp curvature (the SC example seems more like an abrupt directional change!).   

[Mapmikey]

From the film it appears that many of the ramp facilities in the early years were basically RIRO's enhanced with short approach lanes -- probably to avoid as much adjacent property taking as possible.  That must have been a design that was modified or upgraded early on; I don't recall seeing any such configurations either when I first came through in the mid-80's or ever since (good thing!).  Even the old RIRO's on US/CA 99 in the San Joaquin Valley didn't feature such sharp curvature (the SC example seems more like an abrupt directional change!).   

Actually, the RIRO shown at 13:56 is still like this today - https://goo.gl/maps/bSRcMeA8JVQ2

Also, the configurations shown at the end of the video at I-85/585 are pretty much the same too.  Here is a RO exit (labeled as Iron Ore Rd in the video) that is shortly past I-585/US 176:  https://goo.gl/maps/8RUQRhAR4X22

[sparker]

From the film it appears that many of the ramp facilities in the early years were basically RIRO's enhanced with short approach lanes -- probably to avoid as much adjacent property taking as possible.  That must have been a design that was modified or upgraded early on; I don't recall seeing any such configurations either when I first came through in the mid-80's or ever since (good thing!).  Even the old RIRO's on US/CA 99 in the San Joaquin Valley didn't feature such sharp curvature (the SC example seems more like an abrupt directional change!).   

Actually, the RIRO shown at 13:56 is still like this today - https://goo.gl/maps/bSRcMeA8JVQ2

Also, the configurations shown at the end of the video at I-85/585 are pretty much the same too.  Here is a RO exit (labeled as Iron Ore Rd in the video) that is shortly past I-585/US 176:  https://goo.gl/maps/8RUQRhAR4X22

The second (BL 85) looks vaguely familiar; I was on that original I-85 alignment only once circa 1987 or so; the remainder of my trips on I-85 (generally between Atlanta and Durham) came after the bypass was in place.  Never been on I-385 east of I-85; looks like that route follows suit re the ramp configuration.  Guess the local drivers don't find it much of a bother -- so if it ain't broke, SCDOT's not about to fix it!

[D-Dey65]

Actually, the RIRO shown at 13:56 is still like this today - https://goo.gl/maps/bSRcMeA8JVQ2

Zoom up, and you can see plenty of the configurations of former roads that existed before I-385 was built.

The second (BL 85) looks vaguely familiar; I was on that original I-85 alignment only once circa 1987 or so; the remainder of my trips on I-85 (generally between Atlanta and Durham) came after the bypass was in place.  Never been on I-385 east of I-85; looks like that route follows suit re the ramp configuration.  Guess the local drivers don't find it much of a bother -- so if it ain't broke, SCDOT's not about to fix it!

Considering how close many of those interchanges are to one another, you could make a good case against upgrading the road and replacing everything with diamond interchanges. Of course if you want to see I-85 the way that BL-85 is now, you can just head north of Exit 80 and drive to the North Carolina state line.

[PColumbus73]

I traveled several part of these roads! Like the 378 bypass around Lake City and the Graham Freeway in Sumter. It looks like they showed the blue drawbridge in Myrtle Beach as well. Very fascinating!

[D-Dey65]

Did I mention that there were a bunch of cement mixers and trawlers crowding the former Florence County Rest Areas on I-95.

Maybe the construction workers who drive all the cement mixers stationed there should take your advice.

Yeah, I think I did. Still trying to find out what kind of project was taking place there.

[adventurernumber1]

Check out this SCDOT video from the early 1960s...

Some highway shields shown and some really good video in the last 3 minutes showing the I-85/585 interchange from multiple angles.

Contains BGS shield styles I had not seen before in SC...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nJUlt8kur8

Wow!!     

Thank you very much for sharing that video with us! It was incredible and mesmerizing. I always love videos like this that transport you to the past and show you what things looked like back then. It is truly fascinating to me. 

[CanesFan27]

I updated the feature I had on Charleston's three Cooper River Bridges (Grace, Pearman, and Ravenel) with many new photos that I took from two visits to Charleston in 2011.  I also expanded on the tragic story of the Lawson family who lost their lives when a portion of the bridge collapsed in 1946.  If you are a believer in the supernatural, it was said that every February that a green colored late model oldsmobile would appear on the bridge.  The sightings regularly occurred until the Grace Bridge was torn down in 2006.

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/12/charlestons-cooper-river-bridges-grace.html

[Henry]

Early in 1946 on February 24, a family tragedy would haunt the bridge.  That afternoon a freighter, the Nicaragua Victory, would plow through the bridge on the Mount Pleasant side causing 240 feet of the bridge deck and roadway to collapse.  An Oldsmobile carrying Bill Lawson, his wife, mother, and their two young children died when the car fell into the river.  The vehicle was recovered one month later with all five bodies still inside. (3)

Ah, the genesis of the rumor. It would be interesting to note that the bridge would be torn down two years after the car company was discontinued. As for the car in question, would it be updated to reflect the then-current year, or was it always the same as the one that fell off the bridge?

[Sctvhound]

The Wando River bridge in Mt. Pleasant (I-526) has had its westbound side closed for almost two days now because of a broken cable. A press conference will be done today to determine what happens next.

[Sctvhound]

This bridge will be closed for at least 4 weeks due to the faulty cable and repairs.

[D-Dey65]

Did I mention that there were a bunch of cement mixers and trawlers crowding the former Florence County Rest Areas on I-95?

Still haven't found any info on why they were there.

[NE2]

It's because I touch myself at midday.

[fillup420]

Random question

So I just moved to SC, and I have noticed that the signs for US and state highways on interstates look different than the standard shields. Is there a particular reason for this?

[WashuOtaku]

Random question

So I just moved to SC, and I have noticed that the signs for US and state highways on interstates look different than the standard shields. Is there a particular reason for this?

The cut-out signs are basically the same as any other US Highway sign outside California.

I believe you are talking about when they place US Highway signs on green signs, where they have a black outline instead of the flush look seen in other states.

Why they do that... dunno.

[TimQuiQui]

As for the state sheilds, South Carolina redesigned their state shields a while back to use the blue palmetto design, away from the traditional black and white rectangle. Most of the signage across the state has been slowly updated, but a lot of the interstate exit signs, particularly on I85, show the older design.