South Carolina Highway 12 (SC 12) is a

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 ...

in the U.S. state 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 = ...

. It serves Columbia and areas to its east. It serves as a parallel route to Interstate 20 (I-20) for much of its length.

Route description

The route begins as a four-lane highway, splitting from U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) where it is known as Jarvis Klapman Boulevard. Through West Columbia, the highway has a mix of at-grade intersections (including one at SC 35) and interchanges (with 9th Street and US 378). It crosses the

Congaree River The Congaree River is a short but wide river in South Carolina in the United States; It flows for approximately 53 miles (85 km). The river serves an important role as the final outlet channel for the entire Lower Saluda and Lower Broad wate ...

on the Jefferson Davis McMahan Bridge headed into downtown Columbia. For a stretch in Columbia, the highway splits into a

one way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descripti ...

separated by a

city block A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets, not counting any type of thoroughfare within t ...

: Hampton Street and Park Street for eastbound traffic, and Taylor Street and Williams Street for westbound traffic. Continuing east, the route keeps the name Taylor Street. After its intersection with US 1, the road changes its name to Forest Drive as it passes through

Forest Acres Forest Acres is a city in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 10,606 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is an enclave of the city of Columbia. Geography ...

. After a sharp turn at the unsigned Spur SC 12, the road is known as Percival Road, then Fort Jackson Road. North and east of downtown Columbia, the route runs next to Fort Jackson and parallel to

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

then I-20. The route traverses through rural land before reaching its terminus at US 601 at I-20's exit 92.

History

Previous designations

There have been two previous versions of SC 12. The first version ran from the 5th Street Bridge at the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

-South Carolina state line near

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 ...

, to Aiken, Leesville, and

Lexington, South Carolina Lexington is the largest town in and the county seat of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of the state capital, Columbia. The population was 23,568 at the 2020 Census, and it is the second-largest municipality in th ...

before ending in West Columbia. Today, this route is marked as US 1 from the state line to West Columbia, which was assigned the route in 1927. SC 12 was dropped from the route in 1928, the year afterwards. The second former route of SC 12 was established between 1928 and 1931. The route ran from what is now US 521 between Lancaster and

Fort Mill Fort Mill, also known as Fort Mill Township, is a town in York County, South Carolina, United States. It is a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. As of 2020 census, 24,521 people live inside the town's corporate limits. Some businesses and resid ...

for to the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

state line near

Waxhaw, North Carolina Waxhaw is a town in Union County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 20,534 according to the 2020 Census. The population grew 108.28% from 2010. The name is derived from the indigenous people who lived in the area, who were known a ...

, at what was then NC 25. In 1934, North Carolina changed NC 25 to NC 75, and South Carolina renumbered SC 12 to SC 75 four years later, in 1938.

Major intersections

Special routes

West Columbia connector route

South Carolina Highway 12 Connector (SC 12 Conn.) follows 9th Street in West Columbia from U.S. Route 1 (US 1; Meeting Street) to US 378 (Sunset Boulevard). It is long and has an interchange with SC 12 at its midpoint.

Columbia spur route

South Carolina Highway 12 Spur (SC 12 Spur) is a extension of Forest Drive from SC 12 to an interchange with Interstate 77 (I-77) at its exit 12. Past I-77, the road name becomes Strom Thurmond Boulevard and ends at Fort Jackson's Gate 2.

References

External links

*{{commons category inline, South Carolina Highway 12
SC 12 at Virginia Highways' South Carolina Highways Annex

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassie ...

Transportation in Lexington County, South Carolina Transportation in Richland County, South Carolina Transportation in Kershaw County, South Carolina