SPECIAL-SECTIONS

Upstate Lowdown: When will Spartanburg County I-85 project be completed?

Bob Montgomery
bob.montgomery@shj.com
Crews finish up paving the final sections of northbound Interstate 85 between exits 69 and 77, Monday.

BOB MONTGOMERY/SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL

Good news is on the horizon for motorists who have had to use other roads while the 8-mile stretch of northbound lanes of Interstate 85 in Spartanburg County is reconstructed.

One northbound lane and the on-ramps will reopen by mid- to- late-September, all three northbound lanes by December, and all north and southbound lanes by late April, according to the project engineer with the S.C. Department of Transportation.

Several readers have asked Upstate Lowdown for a status update on the six-lane interstate. Upstate Lowdown is a Herald-Journal and GoUpstate.com feature that attempts to answer readers’ questions.

Reader Wanda Miller wanted to know when the stretch of I-85 northbound exits 70 thru 77 would reopen. “My understanding when it was closed that it would reopen in the spring,” she said.

She is partially correct, according to Joseph Fowler, resident construction engineer for the DOT.

“By the end of April next year we expect completion,” Fowler said.

Another reader Mike Younger was curious about the scope of the I-85 construction project in Spartanburg. "Why is it necessary? It is only about 23 years old,” he said.

What prompted the project was a highway that was repaved more than 20 years ago and has been starting to fall apart due to a poor sub-base and an increase in traffic each year -- particularly truck traffic, Fowler said.

“The old roadbed was failing,” he said. “Tractor-trailer traffic probably quadrupled.”

Daily traffic counts bear that out. In 2007, I-85 from Brockman McClimon Road to S.C. 101 saw 80,600 vehicles a day. Last year, 97,700 vehicles a day traveled that stretch.

Also, in 2007, 61,400 vehicles traveled I-85 from U.S. 221 to Gossett Road at Exit 77. Last year, an average of 70,400 vehicles a day traveled that stretch.

Last October, the DOT closed the northbound lanes of I-85 from exits 69 to 77 (Gossett Road). 

Construction crews stripped off the old roadway down to the dirt, laid a new cement-modified concrete base, added 2 inches of asphalt on top of that, then 13 inches of concrete. Then a grinding machine has gone over finished sections to smooth out all the small bumps and create a smoother ride for motorists.

Currently, all three northbound lanes in that stretch are closed and one lane for northbound traffic is being used by one of the three southbound lanes, he said.

By September, one northbound lane and the on-ramps will be reopened and construction will move to the median and southbound lanes, where the surface and sub-base will also be replaced.

By December, all northbound lanes should be open, weather permitting, and by the end of next April all north and southbound lanes should be open again and traffic will resume to normal conditions.

Meanwhile, the I-85 project continues into Cherokee County, from Gossett Road to the North Carolina state line, with work being done in phases from south to north.

The Cherokee project is much more involved. It includes widening the roadway by adding a lane in each direction, and improvements at four interchanges and three overpass bridges.

The existing asphalt pavement from mile markers 77 to 80 in Spartanburg will be replaced with concrete pavement and no additional lanes, according to project manager Shane Parris.

From mile marker 80 in Spartanburg County to mile marker 98 in Cherokee County, a lane will be added in each direction to provide a six-lane concrete interstate when completed by July 2021, he said.

Complete interchange reconstruction will occur at exits 83, 87, 95 and 96. Also, the CSX railroad bridge over I-85 at the Auriga plant near exit 80, along with the Sunny Slope Drive bridge over I-85 in Cherokee County will be reconstructed to make room for the additional lanes.

The widening design for phase 3 from mile marker 98 to 106 at the state line was awarded to Lane Construction and is in the early design phase, Parris said.

Construction is expected to start in July 2019 and be finished by November 2021. This phase will add a lane to both directions as well.

“This section will use existing asphalt as a base and asphalt sub-base will be used for the additional two lanes to provide a six-lane asphalt interstate when completed,” Parris said.

Total interchange reconstruction will occur at exits 100, 102, 104 and 106. Also, the Norfolk Southern Railroad bridge over I-85 will be reconstructed to provide more room for the added lanes, he said.

Parris asked that motorists be mindful of construction workers and reduce speed in the construction zones, don’t text and drive, and to stay alert.