Work Begins on I-95 Improvements in South Carolina
SCDOT plans to address a longstanding chokepoint on I-95.
The South Carolina Dept. of Transportation has broken ground on the I-95 Widening and Improvements Project, a milestone in the agency’s long-term program to modernize its 200-mile portion of the critical East Coast highway.
Constructed by Ferrovial and its U.S. subsidiary, Webber, the $825-million project has a construction cost of nearly $729 million, making it the largest contract in SCDOT’s history. During the next five years, the project team will add a lane in each direction of a 10-mile stretch of I-95 extending from one mile across the Georgia state line to US Roue 278 in Jasper County. A new Savannah River crossing will be coordinated and co-funded by the Georgia Dept. of Transportation. Nearly 15 bridges and two existing interchanges are also to be upgraded to current interstate standards.
Under a separate project, the town of Hardeeville is planning to build a new interchange at milepost 3 to support local commercial, industrial, distribution, and residential development.
SCDOT says the project aims to improve capacity, mobility, and operations at what has long been a chokepoint along the nearly 2,000-mile-long Maine-to-Miami highway, one of oldest routes in the Interstate Highway System. According to the agency’s 2021 I-95 Feasibility Report, the corridor is ranked among the worst of the rural interstates in terms of freight mobility. Average daily northbound traffic volume last year topped 64,600 vehicles, according to SCDOT data.
Under a program called Fixing The Drive, SCDOT is planning a combination of improvement strategies to position its entire length of I-95 for anticipated 2050 traffic volumes. The total program calls for 36 miles of widening and nine interchange improvements, 95 miles of resurfacing and preventive maintenance work, 42 bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects and more than 100 miles of safety improvements.
Some of the resurfacing work has already been completed, while most of the widening and bridge projects are in the design phase.
