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Business Loop Interstate 85

The Business Loop Interstate 85 freeway north of Spartanburg constitutes the original alignment of Interstate 85. To augment congestion related issues, a new alignment of Interstate 85 was constructed and opened to traffic in 1992. This left the original freeway to compose the 2nd Business Loop Freeway in the U.S. at that time.

The freeway itself includes four overall lanes with a 55 mph speed limit. Some civic leaders in the Spartanburg area have advocated a proposal to renumber Business Loop Interstate 85 into Interstate 685. This concept is based upon the premise that an Interstate designation could spur new development along the freeway corridor. However with that stated, federal officials and other governmental leaders have turned down any such proposal to bring a new 3-digit Interstate along this nine mile stretch of highway.

Business Loop Interstate 85 North
Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound splits with Interstate 85 and encounters Blackstock Road (Road 41) at its first interchange (Exit 1). Blackstock Road intersects Fairforest Clevedale Road / Hayne Street nearby at the community of Fairforest. Photo taken 08/29/04
The Business Loop Interstate 85 freeway at Spartanburg is officially designated the Veterans Parkway. A proclamation sign with Clearview font resides near the northbound beginning. Photo taken 08/29/04
The first Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound reassurance shield. The four-lane freeway is relegated to a 55 MPH speed limit throughout its routing. The frontage roads of College Drive (westbound) and Cedar Crest Road (eastbound) join the freeway between Interstate 85 and Blackstock Road (Exit 1). Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 1 leaves Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound for Blackforest Road by way of Cedar Crest Road. Cedar Crest Road intersects Blackstock and Evangel Road in 0.4 miles. Evangel Road continues eastward at the northbound side frontage road of the freeway. Note the unusual ramp configuration that sees the Exit 1 off-ramp criss-cross with the Cedar Crest Road westbound. Photo taken 08/29/04
Attached to the Blackstock Road overpass is the 0.75-mile guide sign for Exits 2A/B with Interstate 26. The upcoming cloverleaf interchange was overwhelmed before the opening of the new Interstate 85 to the northwest. The SR-42-41 bridge identification marker refers to Blackstock Road (Road 41). Photo taken 08/29/04
Interstate 26 is designated the James F. Byrnes Memorial Freeway within the greater Spartanburg area. A proclamation sign is posted ahead of the Exit 2 interchange on Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound adjacent to Evangel Road. James Byrnes is a former South Carolina Governor who was once the Director of War Mobilization as appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II. Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 2A departs ahead for Interstate 26 eastbound to the capital city of Columbia. Interstate 26 sees two interchanges for the city of Spartanburg. Exit 21 joins the freeway with U.S. 29 (W.O. Ezell Boulevard) and Exit 22 with South Carolina 296 (Reidville Road). Photo taken 08/29/04
Entering the Exit 2 cloverleaf interchange at the eastbound off-ramp to Interstate 26. Interstate 26 is one of the older freeways in South Carolina as it stretches 221 miles from the North Carolina state line to Charleston along the Atlantic coast. Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 2B leaves Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound for Asheville and Hendersonville, North Carolina. Interstate 26 interchanges with Interstate 85 in one mile (Exit 18) and reaches the city of Hendersonville in 39 miles. Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 2C quickly departs Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound after its interchange with Interstate 26. Fairforest Road (Road 525) travels 3.7 miles north from Fairforest to Upper Valley Falls Road. The north-south road intersects New Cut Road, South Carolina 56 (Asheville Highway) and U.S. 176 along the way. Photo taken 08/29/04
South Carolina 295 interchanges with Business Loop Interstate 85 three quarters of a mile east of the Fairforest Road overpass. The state route travels south from the New Cut Road interchange (Exit 3) to U.S. 29 (W.O. Ezell Boulevard) and South Carolina 296 (Reidville Road) en route to Spartanburg Downtown Memorial Airport. Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 3 constitutes a slip ramp from the freeway onto the adjacent South Carolina 295 (Simuel Road) frontage road. The state route ends at New Cut Road intersection with Simuel Road next to Business Loop Interstate 85. New Cut Road travels 3.7 miles northwest to Blackstock Road at Cunningham. The interchange is also home to Spartanburg Technical College. Photo taken 08/29/04
Business Loop Interstate 85 passes underneath New Cut Road en route to the Exit 4 off-ramp to Hearon Circle. Simuel Road becomes the northbound frontage road from South Carolina 295 northward to Howard Street. Photo taken 08/29/04
Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound ascends above Howard Street toward Exit 4. The forthcoming off-ramp ends at Hearon Circle with South Carolina 56 (Asheville Highway). South Carolina 56 merges onto U.S. 176 (North Pine Street) 1.6 miles to the north. Southward the state route continues 2.3 miles southeast via Asheville Highway to junction U.S. 221 (Church Street). Photo taken 08/29/04
There is no direct access onto U.S. 176 westbound from Exit 5. Therefore motorists destined for U.S. 176 westbound to Inman or the University of South Carolina Upstate should take Exit 4 onto South Carolina 56 (Asheville Highway) west. Lone Oak Road and Valley Falls Road link U.S. 176 (N. Pine Street) with South Carolina 56 between Business Loop Interstate 85 and Interstate 85. Photo taken 08/29/04
Business Loop 85 northbound at the Interstate 585 eastbound beginning (Exit 5A). Interstate 585 composes a short freeway spur into the city of Spartanburg along the U.S. 176 corridor. A pair of diamond interchanges are found south along Interstate 585 at California Street (Exit 24) and U.S. 221 (Whitney Road) & South Carolina 9 (Exit 25). Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 5B provides a slip ramp onto the adjacent frontage road for Milliken Road on Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound after its three-quarter cloverleaf interchange with Interstate 585 & U.S. 176. The overpass ahead links the east and westbound frontage roads. Photo taken 08/29/04
Placed next to the frontage road overpass is the 0.75-mile guide sign for South Carolina 9 (Exit 6). South Carolina 9 travels Church Street northbound from U.S. 221 and Exit 24 / 25 of Interstate 585. The state route joins U.S. 176 and Business Spur Interstate 585 through downtown Spartanburg on the drive to Pacolet Mills. Photo taken 08/29/04
A full cloverleaf interchange composes the junction between Business Loop Interstate 85 and South Carolina 9 at Exit 6. The state highway transitions into Boiling Springs Road north of the freeway. Boiling Springs Road travels two miles north to Interstate 85 (Exit 75) and five miles to Boiling Springs itself. Photo taken 08/29/04
Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound reassurance shield posted at milepost 6 after South Carolina 9. Sunbeam Road and Hospitality Drive represent the southbound service road between Bryant Road and South Carolina 9. The freeway crosses Lawsons Fork Creek ahead. Photo taken 08/29/04
Next in line for northbound drivers is the Exit 7 diamond interchange with Bryant Road (Road 191). Bryant Road links Business Loop Interstate 85 with U.S. 221 (Chesnee Highway) 0.9 miles to the southeast. Photo taken 08/29/04
Exit 7 is the final mainline interchange of the Business Loop Interstate 85 freeway before it returns to Interstate 85. Bryant Road becomes Road 191 in name on the drive northward. Photo taken 08/29/04
A full-access trumpet interchange composes the north end of Business Loop Interstate 85 with Interstate 85. A left-hand exit returns traffic onto Interstate 85 southbound for Inman, Asheville, and Greenville. Bryant Road travels over the freeway one half mile south of its end. Photo taken 08/29/04
Business Loop Interstate 85 northbound traffic merges onto Interstate 85 ahead of Exit 78 with U.S. 221 (Chesnee Highway). The towns of Gaffney and Blacksburg lie 14 and 24 miles ahead respectively. The left-hand ramp to Interstate 85 south travels over the southbound carriageway of the Business Loop and Interstate 85 itself. Photo taken 08/29/04
Business Loop Interstate 85 South
Business Loop Interstate 85 southbound at Exit 4B for South Carolina 56 (Asheville Highway). A slip ramp composes the exit onto adjacent Charisma Drive ahead of the Hearon Circle junction of South Carolina 56 with Lone Oak Road, Glenn Road, Mobile Drive, and the other ramps to / from the freeway. South Carolina 56 follows U.S. 176's old routing from U.S. 176 (North Pine Street) eastward into downtown Spartanburg. Photo taken 09/24/04.
A loop ramp carries Exit 4A underneath Business Loop Interstate 85 to Simuel or Viaduct Road south of the freeway. Viaduct Road ascends across the Norfolk-Southern Railroad line between Sidney and Howard Streets. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Exit 3 follows Exit 4A in quick sucession for New Cut Road and the southbound beginning of South Carolina 295 (Spring Street). New Cut Road travels southeast from Cunningham and Blackstock Road to become Parrish Road on the drive to California Avenue and city of Spartanburg. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Affixed to the New Cut Road overcrossing is the 1.25-mile overhead for Exits 2B/A (Interstate 26). The upcoming cloverleaf interchange lies beyond the Exit 2C off-ramp to Fairforest Road. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Fairforest Road (Road 525) interchanges with Business Loop Interstate 85 at Exit 2C. The north-south road travels between Fairforest at Blackstock Road to New Cut Road and South Carolina 56 (Asheville Highway). Photo taken 09/24/04.
Drawing near the Exit 2B off-ramp onto Interstate 26 westbound for Hendersonville and Asheville, North Carolina. Interstate 26 crosses into the Tar Heel State in 19 miles on the 39-mile drive to Hendersonville. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Business Loop Interstate 85 southbound at Exit 2B for Interstate 26 west. Interstate 26 meets junction Interstate 40 & 240 at Asheville in 58 miles. The freeway extends 136 miles overall from Exit 2B to Johnson City, Tennessee and the Interstate 81 corridor near Kingsport, Tennessee. Photo taken 09/24/04.
A pair of two-lane overpasses pass above Business Loop Interstate 85 for Interstate 26 at Exit 2A. Interstate 26 eastbound travels southward 79 miles to junction Interstate 20 & 126 at Columbia and 202 miles to downtown Charleston. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Business Loop Interstate 85 southbound at Exit 1 (N. Blackstock Road). A slip-ramp composes the off-ramp onto the adjacent service road 0.75 miles ahead of North Blackstock Road at College Drive. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Business Loop Interstate 85 southbound one mile ahead of the Interstate 85 Exit 63 partial "Y" interchange with South Carolina 129 (Fort Prince Boulevard) westbound. The state highway begins at the upcoming interchange and loops west five miles to Lyman (pop. 2,659). Crossing the freeway here is the Blackstock Road overpass. Photo taken 09/24/04.
Business Loop Interstate 85 ties into Interstate 85 ahead of the Exit 68 off-ramp for South Carolin 129 (Fort Prince Boulevard). The state highway ties into U.S. 29 five miles ahead of the city of Greer (pop. 16,843). Photo taken 09/24/04.
Scenes Pertaining to Business Loop 85
A frontage road system exists along Business Loop 85 between the South Carolina 56 (Asheville Highway) interchange and Exit 7 (Bryant Road). Movements between the east-west freeway and associated surface roadways utilize these frontage roads to make their respective connections. Depicted here is a northbound Business Loop 85 shield on South Carolina 9 (Boiling Springs Road) at the loop onto the eastbound frontage road. Photo taken 12/08/99.

Page Updated December 1, 2004.