Ground has been broken to widen 11 miles of I-26 in South Carolina between Columbia and Charleston.
The four-lane section will be expanded to six lanes; five bridges will be replaced, and the overpasses at exits 129 and 136 will be reconstructed – at an estimated cost of $440 million, according to the S.C. Department of Transportation.
The project is part of a six-year plan to improve the state’s main east-west connector between Columbia and Charleston, which was built in the late 1950s, as well as west to Greenville. The effort includes the Carolina Crossroads projects to rebuild the I-26/I-20/I-126 intersection at Columbia, known locally as Malfunction Junction. Work on it began in 2021. Then in 2023, work began on widening seven miles of I-26 in Dorchester and Berkeley counties between mile markers 187 and 194.
The latest section to be widened is from mile marker 125 to 136 between Gaston and St. Matthews. A groundbreaking celebration was held May 20 to kick off construction. The project is expected to be completed in late 2027.
The red line shows the section of I-26 to be widened between St. Matthews and Gaston.SCDOT
- Improve geometry of interchanges.
- Widen paved shoulders.
- Improve site distance over crest curves.
- Widen bridge shoulders.
- Upgrade high-friction surface course.