Interstate 385 (I-385) is an

auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which con ...

located in the Upstate region of

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. I-385 is a spur route of

I-85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 65, I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with Interstate 95, I ...

. The highway provides a connection between Greenville and

I-26 I26 may refer to: * Interstate 26 Interstate 26 (I-26) is a main route of the Interstate Highway System in the Southeastern United States. Nominally east–west, as indicated by its even number, I-26 runs from the junction of U.S. Route 11W ...

to the south, connecting Greenville to Columbia and

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. Around Greenville, the last several miles of I-385 forms the northeastern quadrant of a partial

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

around Greenville's southern suburbs along with I-185.

Route description

After exit 42, I-385 turns into I-385 Business (I-385 Bus.) and becomes East North Street and later—for northbound motorists only—Beattie Place. The business route promptly ends at US Highway 29 (US 29; Church Street) near

Bon Secours Wellness Arena Bon Secours Wellness Arena (formerly the BI-LO Center; The Well) is a multi-purpose arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The arena serves as the home of the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. History The Bon Secours Wellness Arena was built ...

in downtown Greenville. The explosive economic growth of southern Greenville county is largely attributed to I-385 and its connection to the city of Greenville and the major cities of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

(via I-85). This area is known by locals as the "Golden Strip". I-385 features a rather unusual rest area in the median strip near Laurens that serves both directions of traffic. It was completed as part of the original design of the US 276 expressway in 1958, modeled after the type of single median-located rest areas shared by both north and southbound traffic (to save money). The design is similar to many of those built on turnpikes that predated the Interstate System.

History

The general idea—but none of the specifics—of I-385 were present on the 1955 Yellow Book map of the Greenville area. Also of note is that

would have used the

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

corridor from Greenville east toward

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

based on the diagram. The portion of I-385 that replaced US 276 (from

South Carolina Highway 417 South Carolina Highway 417 (SC 417) is a state highway in central Greenville and Spartanburg counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. Route description SC 417's western terminus is at junction with U.S. Ro ...

C 417in Mauldin to SC 56/

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

) was initially the first phase built of a

South Carolina Department of Transportation The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) is a government agency in the US state of South Carolina. Its mission is to build and maintain roads and bridges and administer mass transit services. By state law, the SCDOT's function and ...

(SCDOT) plan that predated the Interstate System to upgrade and bypass existing through routes, the goal of forming a single

limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

from Greenville to the port of

via the state capital of Columbia. This plan was scrapped as soon as the future I-26 was added to the act of

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

that set into motion the Interstate System. As a result, I-26 was one of the first Interstates in the south to open in significant mileage (most in South Carolina between 1959 and 1963). Before 1985, I-385 was only signed as such from downtown Greenville to I-85. The portion of the freeway from US 276 in Mauldin to the southern terminus at I-26 was signed as US 276. When the connecting portion was completed, the entire freeway was signed as I-385. For seven months ending July 23, 2010, northbound traffic could not use a section of I-385 in Laurens County due to a $60.9-million (equivalent to $ in ) project to pave the portion extending from SC 101 to the I-385/I-26 interchange near Clinton in concrete. The closing of a major highway generated controversy. Closing the Interstate for construction saved approximately $34 million (equivalent to $ in ). Between 2002 and 2012, I-385 was widened from two to three lanes in each direction from just north of exit 24 near Fountain Inn to just south of Woodruff Road/ SC 146 (exit 35), with the portion between exits 31 and 35 resurfaced in concrete. Starting in February 2016 and expected to continue through 2020, the I-385/I-85 interchange is being reconstructed to decrease congestion and related accidents.

Exit list

Interstate 385 Business

Interstate 385 Business (I-385 Bus.) is a

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway. Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls. In American usage, boulevards may ...

-grade

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

of I-385 along North Street, between Stone Avenue ( US 276) and Church Street (

). It is an

unsigned highway Road sign along Aurora_to_exit_the_freeway._The_road_at_this_exit_is_officially_designated_Sigurd_and_Aurora,_Utah">Aurora_to_exit_the_freeway._The_road_at_this_exit_is_officially_designated_Utah_State_Route_259">SR 259,_a_short_connector;_h ...

. Its continuation along North Street becomes SC 183. It also connects to US 123 (Academy Street) and SC 183 (Beattie Place). Signage previously existed for this spur route but, by 2007, has been removed; appears only in the SCDOT Greenville–Spartanburg Metro map.

References

External links