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Wikipedia / Interstate 20

Interstate20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, east of Van Horn, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between Texas and South Carolina, I-20 runs through northern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The major cities that I-20 connects to include Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Columbia, South Carolina.

From its terminus at I-95, the highway continues about eastward into the city of Florence as I-20 Business (I-20 Bus.).

Route description

|- |TX | |- |LA | |- |MS | |- |AL | |- |GA | |- |SC | |- |Total | |}

I-20 spans approximately 2/3 of the United States between Texas and South Carolina serving major southern economic hubs such as Dallas–Fort Worth and Atlanta.

Texas

I-20 begins in western Reeves County at a fork with I-10. From there, the highway travels east-northeastward through Odessa, Midland, and Abilene before turning eastward toward the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The La Entrada al Pacífico corridor runs along I-20 between US Route 385 (US385) and Farm to Market Road 1788 (FM1788). Between Monahans and I-10, I-20 has an speed limit.

From the highway's opening in the 1960s through 1977, I-20 originally went through the heart of the metroplex via the Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike. This old route is now signed I-30 (Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike and from US80/I-30 intersection at Mesquite to Downtown Dallas), US 80 (former stretch between I-635 and Terrell), and Spur 557 (bypass around Terrell). In 1977, I-20 was rerouted to go through the southern sections of Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Dallas, and Mesquite. It split off from the old route initially at I-820 in west Fort Worth the later on at its current junction near Aledo in Parker County. It rejoins the old route near Terrell. Part of I-20 in Dallas used to be signed as I-635 and shares the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway name with the remainder of I-635. Parts on the south side of Fort Worth were originally signed as I-820.

I-20 continues eastward from Terrell, bypassing Tyler, Kilgore, Longview, and Marshall before crossing the Louisiana border near Waskom.

Louisiana

In Louisiana, I-20 roughly parallels US 80 through the northern part of the state.

Entering the state from near Waskom, Texas, the highway immediately enters the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, intersecting I-49 near downtown Shreveport and passing close to Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City.

I-20 traverses mainly rural, hilly terrain, bypassing Minden, Grambling, and Ruston before reaching Monroe.

From Monroe, I-20 enters flatter terrain as it approaches the Mississippi River. Before crossing the Mississippi, the highway passes Tallulah. At the Mississippi River, I-20 leaves Louisiana and enters Vicksburg.

Mississippi

Upon entering Mississippi by crossing the Mississippi River, I-20 immediately enters Vicksburg. Between Edwards and Clinton, the highway mostly follows the original two-lane routing of US 80. In Jackson, I-20 sees a short concurrency with both I-55 and US 49. Also in Jackson is an unusually expansive stack interchange, at the junction of I-20, I-55 north, and US49 south. The interchange replaces a former directional interchange at I-55 north and a cloverleaf interchange at US49. From the stack, I-20 continues eastward to Meridian, where it begins the nearly overlap with I-59.

The route of the Mississippi section of I-20 is defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3.

Alabama

I-20 (along with I-59) crosses the Alabama state line near York, and it stays conjoined as it passes through western Alabama and Tuscaloosa. At Birmingham, the two highways pass through downtown together before splitting at exit130 just east of Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport. I-20 continues eastward through Oxford–Anniston and the Talladega National Forest, passing by Talladega Superspeedway in the process, which is visible from the highway.

Also in Birmingham, the intersection of I-20/I-59 and I-65 was known as a Malfunction Junction because of the interchange's somewhat-confusing design, and the number of traffic accidents that occurred there. This section of the Interstate and its interchanges have since been reconfigured.

Georgia

I-20 enters Georgia near Tallapoosa and after passing through western Georgia, it enters the Atlanta metropolitan area. On clear days, eastbound motorists get their first view of Downtown Atlanta as they come over the top of Six Flags Hill. The Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park is easily visible off exit46 eastbound. The highway then passes through the center of Atlanta, meeting with I-75 and I-85, which share a common expressway (the Downtown Connector). It continues through the Atlanta metropolitan area eastward and through the eastern half of Georgia until it exits the state, crossing the Savannah River at Augusta.

Throughout the state, I-20 is conjoined with unsigned State Route 402 (SR402). Also, I-20 from the Alabama state line to I-285 in Atlanta is named the "Tom Murphy Freeway", but it is called the "Ralph David Abernathy Freeway" within I-285. The Interstate Highway is also named the Purple Heart Highway from I-285 in DeKalb County to US 129/US 441/SR 24 in Madison, Georgia, and it is called the Carl Sanders Highway from US129/US441/SR24 to the South Carolina state line.

South Carolina

Upon leaving Augusta, I-20 crosses the Savannah River and enters the Palmetto State and heads northeastward, bypassing Aiken and Lexington before reaching the state capital of Columbia, which can be reached most directly by taking I-26 east at exit64 ("Malfunction Junction"), then, almost immediately, I-126/US 76.

At Columbia, I-20 bypasses the city to the north and again turns northeastward, bypassing Fort Jackson and Camden. After crossing the Wateree River, it turns due east and passes by tiny Bishopville, before reaching the Florence area. It is near Florence where I-20 sees its eastern terminus at I-95. However, for about , the highway continues into Florence as I-20 Bus.

I-20 in the Palmetto State is known as either the J. Strom Thurmond Freeway or John C. West Freeway. The first section to be completed was the bridge over the Savannah River in 1965; the last, the section between US 401 and I-95 (including the business spur), opened in August1975.

History

I-20 was built in 1957 connecting Texas to the east coast running through Shreveport, Ruston, and Monroe making it their first Interstate.

I-20's exit numbers in Georgia were changed in 2000.

In 2003, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) proposed extending I-20 eastward from Florence, South Carolina to Wilmington, North Carolina at the behest of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and his 'Strategic Transportation Plan' for the southeast portion of the state. The proposed route would follow US 76 east from Florence to Whiteville, North Carolina, then parallel US 74/US76 into Wilmington. Part of this route is already designated the future eastern extension of I-74. As part of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users transportation legislation, North Carolina received $5million (equivalent to $ in ) for a feasibility study for this extension. While this extension has considerable support among towns in southeastern North Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) has stated that they have no interest in upgrading their portion of US76 to an Interstate. Instead, South Carolina is concentrating their efforts on plans to build I-73 (and possibly I-74) that will terminate near Myrtle Beach.

Junction list

  1. Texas

  2. in Reeves County

  3. in Pecos

  4. in Odessa

  5. in Big Spring

  6. east of Roscoe. The highways travel concurrently to the Tye–Abilene city line.

  7. in Abilene

  8. in Baird

  9. in Cisco

  10. south-southeast of Brazos

  11. in Hudson Oaks

  12. northeast of Aledo

  13. in Fort Worth

  14. in Fort Worth

  15. in Benbrook

  16. in Fort Worth

  17. in Fort Worth. I-20/US287 travels concurrently to Arlington.

  18. in Grand Prairie

  19. in Dallas

  20. on the Dallas–Lancaster city line

  21. on the Dallas–Hutchins city line

  22. on the Dallas–Balch Springs city line

  23. in Balch Springs

  24. in Lindale

  25. south-southeast of Winona

  26. northeast of Kilgore. The highways travel concurrently to Longview.

  27. in Marshall

  28. west-southwest of Jonesville. The highways travel concurrently to west of Waskom.

  29. Louisiana

  30. in Greenwood

  31. in Shreveport

  32. in Shreveport

  33. in Shreveport

  34. in Shreveport

  35. in Shreveport

  36. in Shreveport. The highways travel concurrently to Bossier City.

  37. in Bossier City

  38. near Haughton

  39. in Dixie Inn. The highways travel concurrently to Minden.

  40. southeast of Minden

  41. in Ruston

  42. east-northeast of Calhoun

  43. in Monroe

  44. in Rayville

  45. in Tallulah

  46. in Delta. The highways travel concurrently to Clinton, Mississippi.

  47. Mississippi

  48. in Vicksburg. The highways travel concurrently through Vicksburg.

  49. in Jackson. I-20/US49 travels concurrently to Pearl.

  50. in Jackson. I-20/I-55 travels concurrently to Richland

  51. in Brandon

  52. in Brandon

  53. east-southeast of Lake

  54. west-southwest of Meridian. The highways travel concurrently to Meridian.

  55. in Meridian. The highways travel concurrently to Birmingham, Alabama.

  56. in Meridian. The highways travel concurrently through Meridian.

  57. in Meridian

  58. west-northwest of Kewanee

  59. Alabama

  60. near Cuba

  61. south of Knoxville

  62. in Tuscaloosa

  63. in Tuscaloosa

  64. in Tuscaloosa

  65. in Tuscaloosa

  66. south of Lake View. The highways travel concurrently to Bessemer.

  67. southwest of McCalla

  68. in Birmingham

  69. in Birmingham

  70. in Birmingham

  71. in Birmingham

  72. in Irondale

  73. in Leeds

  74. on the Leeds–Moody line

  75. northwest of Cooks Springs. The highways travel concurrently to Pell City.

  76. in Pell City

  77. in Riverside

  78. east of Oxford

  79. Georgia

  80. in Bremen

  81. in Atlanta

  82. in Atlanta

  83. in Atlanta

  84. on the Panthersville–Candler-McAfee CDP line

  85. southeast of Lithonia. The highways travel concurrently to Covington.

  86. in Social Circle

  87. in Madison

  88. in Barnett

  89. south of Appling

  90. in Augusta

  91. South Carolina

  92. in North Augusta

  93. in North Augusta

  94. north-northeast of Aiken

  95. southeast of Batesburg-Leesville

  96. east of Lexington

  97. north of Oak Grove

  98. on the Seven Oaks–St. Andrews CDP line

  99. in St. Andrews

  100. north of Columbia

  101. in Columbia

  102. in Dentsville

  103. on the Dentsville–Woodfield CDP line

  104. in Lugoff

  105. in Camden

  106. southwest of Bishopville

  107. northeast of Lamar

  108. in Florence

Auxiliary routes

Two I-420s were planned but never completed or built. One was to be a bypass around Monroe, Louisiana, but was never built. The other I-420 was planned as a bypass to the south of Downtown Atlanta. Due to anti-freeway sentiments, this I-420 was never completed, and the already-built portion has been signed as State Route 154 (SR154)/SR 166, named the Langford Parkway (formerly the Lakewood Freeway).

See also

References