Interstate 520 (I-520) is a

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 ...

that encircles most of

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

, and

North Augusta, South Carolina North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) ...

, as a three-quarter

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 the western, southern, and eastern parts of the main part of the Augusta metropolitan area. It begins at

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

and State Route 232 (SR 232) in the northern part of Augusta, Georgia, and ends at

in the northern part of North Augusta, South Carolina. I-520 is also known as

Bobby Jones Expressway The Bobby Jones Expressway is a roadway in the U.S. state of Georgia that is named for golfer Bobby Jones. It follows: * Georgia State Route 232's easternmost (from its intersection with SR 104 and Old Evans Road in Martinez to its eastern t ...

and the Deputy James D. Paugh Memorial Highway in Georgia and Palmetto Parkway in South Carolina. On the Georgia side, the road also carries the internal designation State Route 415 (SR 415).

Route description

, - , GA , , - , SC , , - , Total , The entire length of I-520 is part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.

Georgia

I-520 begins at an interchange with

(Carl Sanders Highway) and the internal designation of SR 402 in the northern part of Augusta. At this interchange, the roadway continues as SR 232, which takes on the Bobby Jones Expressway name. The Interstate travels to the south-southeast. After passing the Augusta Exchange

shopping complex A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

, east of Doctors Hospital, it has an interchange with

Wheeler Road Wheeler Road is a major highway in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, traveling through the southeastern part of Columbia County and the northeastern part of Richmond County. For its entire length, it is an urban corridor of t ...

and Marks Church Road. After a slight western jog, I-520 continues to the south-southeast and meets

Wrightsboro Road Wrightsboro Road is a major road in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, traveling through the northwestern part of McDuffie County, the extreme northern part of Warren County, the southeastern part of Wilkes County, the south ...

, which leads to Augusta Mall. About later is an interchange with U.S. Route 78 (US 78)/ US 278/ SR 10 (

Gordon Highway Gordon Highway is a major highway in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, traveling through the southern part of Columbia County and the northeastern part of Richmond County. It is named after Confederate general John Brown Gordon ...

). The freeway curves to the southeast, passing by Glenn Hills Middle School and

Glenn Hills High School Glenn Hills Comprehensive High School is a public high school located in the south Augusta area of Augusta, Georgia, United States. It opened in 1967. Athletics The school mascot is a Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spár ...

, to an interchange with US 1/ SR 4 (Deans Bridge Road) and SR 540 (

Fall Line Freeway The Fall Line Freeway (FLF; also signed as State Route 540 (SR 540)) is a highway designed to span the width of the U.S. state of Georgia from Columbus at the Alabama state line to Augusta, travelling through several cities includi ...

). It passes by a campus of

Augusta Technical College Augusta Technical College is a public technical school based in Augusta, Georgia. It was opened in 1961 and is part of the Technical College System of Georgia. The school has three campuses, one in Augusta (Richmond County), another in Thomson ...

and the

Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School (RCTCM) is a magnet school for the arts and technical careers located in the South Augusta area of Augusta, Georgia, United States. It was formed in 2012 at the former Joseph R. Lamar School in Down ...

, before curving to the east-southeast and meeting an interchange with Windsor Spring Road also with US 25/ SR 121 (Peach Orchard Road) and SR 555/ SR 565 (

Savannah River Parkway The Savannah River Parkway is a four-lane divided highway that roughly parallels the Savannah River in the U.S. state of Georgia, that exists in two distinct segments. The roadway is being considered for inclusion as part of Interstate 3 (I ...

). After a curve to the east is an interchange with SR 56 (Mike Padgett Highway), which is east of Southside Elementary School and northeast of East-Central Regional Hospital. I-520 curves to the east-northeast and has an interchange with

Doug Barnard Parkway Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

(former State Route 56 Spur (SR 56 Spur)). The Interstate gradually curves to the northeast and has an interchange with Laney Walker Boulevard and SR 28 (Sand Bar Ferry Road). Just over later, it crosses the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

into

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 = ...

and the

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

of North Augusta.

South Carolina

I-520 curves to the north-northwest, to an interchange with US 1/ US 78/ US 278 (only signed as "US 1"). The highway curves back to the north-northeast and has an interchange with

South Carolina Highway 126 South Carolina Highway 126 (SC 126) is a primary State highway (US), state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It directly links Belvedere, South Carolina, Belvedere with Clearwater, South Carolina, Clearwater, with a small po ...

(SC 126; Clearwater Road). During a slight westward shift is an interchange with US 25/ SC 121 (Edgefield Road). Just north-northeast of there, I-520 meets its eastern terminus, another interchange with I-20. Augsky2

Named portions

In Georgia, I-520 is known as Bobby Jones Expressway for

golfer Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Bobby Jones. In South Carolina, it is known as Palmetto Parkway for the

sabal palmetto ''Sabal palmetto'' (, '' SAY-bəl''), also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the So ...

, the

state tree This is a list of U.S. state, federal district, and territory trees, including official trees of the following of the states, of the federal district, and of the territories. Table See also * List of U.S. state, district, and territorial insign ...

. Between exits 2 and 3, the highway is known as the Deputy James D. Paugh Memorial Highway after a Richmond County sheriff's deputy who was killed at exit 3 when responding to reports of a gunman who was shooting at passing cars. I-520 loses its state route designation in South Carolina, as that state does not co-number its Interstates with state highway numbers.

History

The highway that would become I-520 was under

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

between May 1963 and January 1966 from its western terminus to just south of the US 1/SR 4 interchange in Augusta. Also, it was proposed to be an extension of SR 232, at least as far as US 25/SR 121. In 1966, the highway was open and signed as SR 232 from I-20 to Wrightsboro Road. It was under construction from US 1/SR 4 to Doug Barnard Parkway. In 1974, SR 232 was open from Wrightsboro Road to US 1/SR 4. In 1977, the highway was redesignated as I-520. The next year, it was open from US 1/SR 4 to Doug Barnard Parkway. In 1986, the highway was under construction from Doug Barnard Parkway to SR 28. In 1998, this segment was opened. The next year, it was proposed to be extended to the South Carolina state line. In 2004, this extension was opened. In 2010, the highway was extended to its current eastern terminus in the northern part of North Augusta. In January 2015, of I-520 were expanded to three lanes in each direction after work started in February 2012 for a cost of $33 million.

Exit list

In accordance with MUTCD guidelines for auxiliary Interstates, exit numbering is continuous across the state line and does not reset.

References

External links

* *
Interstate Guide-Interstate 520

{{3di, 20 20-5 20-5 20-5 Transportation in Richmond County, Georgia Interstate 20-5 Transportation in Aiken County, South Carolina 5