I-26 runs through South Carolina. Milemarkers run from west (north) to east (south). Milemarker 0 is in the mountains at the North Carolina state line. The last exit, at US 17 south of Charleston, is exit 221. I-26 runs between the Broad and Saluda Rivers, descending from the mountains to the piedmont or midlands. At Columbia, I-126 crosses the confluence of the Broad and Saluda, which together form the Congaree, near the Columbia Canal and water treatment plant. I-26 continues following the Congaree until it hops south over into the Cooper and Ashley Drainage, then down to the coast. I-26 is predominantly a four-lane rural Interstate with speed limits. In the Columbia and Charleston areas, the Interstate widens to six lanes, but speeds are lower. I-26 enters South Carolina just northeast of
Landrum, traveling a southeasterly direction. The first major city along its route is
Spartanburg, where it intersects
I-85 to
Greenville and
Charlotte. As the Interstate weaves along the terrain, it reaches
Clinton; where westbound travelers can connect with
I-385 toward Greenville. Traveling through the
Sumter National Forest, it connects with
Newberry before entering the
Midlands. At
Columbia in a section known as "
Malfunction Junction", it connects with
I-20 to
Augusta and
Florence and
I-126 toward the downtown area; it then goes south over the
Saluda River and into
Lexington County for the second of eventually four times along its course. At
Cayce, it connects with
I-77 to Charlotte. South of Cayce, the Interstate goes up and down a few very long hills before reaching the outskirts of
Orangeburg and
I-95 to
Savannah and Florence. As it enters the relatively flat plains of the
Lowcountry, the area becomes urbanized as the Interstate encroaches upon
North Charleston and
Charleston. As the Interstate curves through the peninsula formed by the
Ashley and
Cooper rivers, it connects with
I-526 to Savannah and
Mount Pleasant. Near the end, it overlaps with
US 17 from its new interchange (from the
Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge) to where the old interchange remnants and where I-26 ends (formally where the
John P. Grace Memorial Bridge and
Silas N. Pearman Bridge connected).
Services The
South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) operates and maintains one welcome center and seven rest areas along I-26. Welcome centers, which have a travel information facility on site, are located at milemarker 3 (eastbound); rest areas are located at milemarkers 63 (east and westbound), 123 (east and westbound), 150 (eastbound), 152 (westbound), and 204 (eastbound). Common at all locations are public restrooms, public telephones, vending machines, picnic area, and barbecue grills. The
South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) and
State Transport Police (STP) operates and maintains three truck inspection/weigh stations. A westbound weigh station can be found at milemarker 93.5 in Chapin west of Columbia, and two others at milemarker 173 (eastbound) and milemarker 174 (westbound) in Harleyville east of the interchanges with I-95 and US 15. ==History==