The South Carolina State Highway System is the fourth largest state-maintained system of

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

s in the country. It consists of

Interstates The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

U.S. highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

, state highways, and secondary roads, totaling approximately .

History

Signage

South Carolina Highways has had three major highway marker changes over its existence. The first signs used by the state featured an all white square with a black outline of the geographic state of South Carolina with black numbers located in the center. In 1948, a more simple design was established; still using a white square with just the numbers and the initials "S.C." at the top; a variant wider side was used for three-digit numbers. In the 1960s-1970s, an alternate was also used, which was a white square with "S. CAROLINA" partitioned at the top and number below. On June 19, 2007, the South Carolina Department of Transportation Commission approved the change to the signs marking the primary state highways from the black-and-white to the blue-and-white design, which features an outline of the state, the palmetto tree and crescent symbol from the state flag, and the words "SOUTH CAROLINA" spelled out along on the top of the highway shield. South Carolina uses a wide shield for all routes, regardless of number of digits.

Secondary roads

South Carolina utilizes a numbering system to keep track of all non-interstate and primary highways that are maintained by SCDOT. First appearing in 1947 (when a huge amount of highways were cancelled or truncated), the "state highway secondary system" carries the number of the county followed by a unique number for the particular road. An example is S-11-154, which defines a secondary road in Cherokee County (11) with a road number of 154 (Whelchel Road). The counties are numbered in alphabetical order, with

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

as 1 and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

as 46. Secondary road signs may either be integrated with a street name sign or appear separate as a black rectangle with white lettering. No page number; p. 204 of .pdf document. Signs M1-15-20-D/F (left or right arrow) and M1-15-24-D/F (both arrows).

List of routes

Toll roads

* Southern Connector - Tolled section of I-185, between I-385 and

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

, in

Greenville County Greenville County is located in the state of South Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to ...

Other routes and highways

* Mr. Joe White Avenue *

Harrelson Boulevard Harrelson Boulevard is a four-lane highway in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, named for Myrtle Beach's first mayor Dr. W. Leroy Harrelson Sr., who was elected to office in 1938. It starts at U.S. 17, and goes to Myrtle Beach International Airport a ...

* Robert Grissom Parkway *

Farrow Parkway Farrow Parkway is a four-lane, parkway that connects US 17 and US 17 Business in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The $6.9 million roadway replaced a former two-lane roadway through the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base with funding from the city o ...

Robert Edge Parkway Robert Edge Parkway is a connection highway in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It begins at U.S. Route 17 (US 17) and Main Street, crosses the Intracoastal Waterway, has an interchange with South Carolina Highway 31 (SC 31) or the ...

Carolina Forest Boulevard Carolina Forest Boulevard is the main roadway through Carolina Forest, South Carolina, initially built when the development by International Paper was created in the 1990s. The road is approximately in length, and runs through the center of the ...

* Southern Evacuation Lifeline

Ferry division

The South Carolina Department of Transportation Ferry Division a.k.a. South Carolina Ferry System is a branch of SCDOT that is responsible for the operation of over two dozen ferry services that transport passengers and vehicles to several islands along the James Island outside of Charleston in

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 = ...

. two other inland,

cable ferries A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

continue in operation, under the oversight of the SCDOT.

Routes

* James Island– Charleston * James Island– Mt. Pleasant

References

External links

South Carolina @ SouthEastRoads.com
(route log)
South Carolina Highways
(includes early history)
South Carolina Highway Page
{{US state highways