U.S. Route 17 in South Carolina

U.S. Highway 17
U.S. Highway 17
Coastal Highway
	US 17 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by SCDOT
Length	221.454 mi (356.396 km)
Existed	November 11, 1926–present
Major junctions
South end	US 17 / SR 404 Spur at Georgia line near Savannah, GA
	I-95 in Hardeeville; US 321 in Hardeeville; US 278 from Hardeeville to Ridgeland; I-95 from Ridgeland to Point South; ; US 17 Alt. / US 21 near Poctaligo; I-526 in Charleston; I-26 in Charleston; I-526 / I-526 BS in Mount Pleasant; ; US 17 Alt. / US 521 / US 701 in Georgetown; US 501 in Myrtle Beach;
North end	US 17 at North Carolina line near Calabash, NC
Location
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Counties	Jasper, Beaufort, Colleton, Charleston, Georgetown, Horry
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided; South Carolina State Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

U.S. Highway 17 (US 17) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs north–south from Punta Gorda, Florida to Winchester, Virginia. In South Carolina, it is a 221-mile (356 km) major highway that travels near the Atlantic Ocean. Beginning from the Georgia state line at the Savannah River, US 17 enters South Carolina in Jasper County, where it intersects with Interstate 95 (I-95). The route goes through Hardeeville. It merges with I-95 until Point South, then heads east into Beaufort County, through the ACE Basin, and eventually reaches Charleston. There, US 17 crosses the Ashley and Cooper rivers, crossing the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and becoming a major route through Mount Pleasant. Continuing through the Francis Marion National Forest, it reaches Georgetown. Then it follows the Grand Strand, bypassing Myrtle Beach before entering North Carolina near Calabash.

US 17 existed before the Interstate Highway System and remains an alternative to I-95 for local and long-distance travel. The highway offers a more scenic coastal route than I-95's inland path. During hurricane seasons, US 17 serves as an evacuation route for coastal communities, particularly in the Grand Strand regions.

Throughout its route in South Carolina, the highway is commonly called the Coastal Highway. Historically, a portion of US 17 was part of a much longer colonial-era route known as the King's Highway. This historic road stretched from Charleston to Boston, Massachusetts, serving the major colonial cities along the Eastern Seaboard. Additionally, multiple portions of US 17 were part of the Ocean Highway, due to the highway being near the Atlantic Ocean.

Route description

US 17 runs for 221.454 miles (356.396 km) from the South Carolina Lowcountry to the Pee Dee region. The route primarily follows a more northeast–southwest direction. Most of the corridor runs through coastal areas, marshes and wetlands, urban areas, and rural farmland. US 17 is mostly four lanes except from the Georgia state line to the US 17 / SC 170 interchange near Limehouse and from Garr Lane in Hardeeville to State Road S-27-13 near Ridgeland. Between Ridgeland and Point South, US 17 runs concurrently with I-95. The highway is maintained by the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).

Georgia state line to Charleston

US 17 enters South Carolina in Jasper County as a two-lane road and, within eight miles (13 km), enters Hardeeville, where it becomes a four-lane configuration. US 17 intersects I-95 at exit 5 in Hardeeville and after the intersection with US 321, runs parallel to I-95 until Ridgeland, where it merges with the Interstate at exit 22 until Point South. At Point South, US 17 leaves I-95 at exit 33 and heads eastward into northern Beaufort County, sharing a concurrency with US 21 until Gardens Corner. US 21 splits off to Beaufort while US 17 heads northeast into the ACE Basin and Colleton County.^[8] Once in Jacksonboro, the road enters into Charleston County crossing over the Edisto River and regaining a four-lane configuration for the remainder of the state. The road passes through several rural communities as it approaches Charleston from the west. Just before the interchange with I-526, major commercial development starts and continues into the West Ashley neighborhood of Charleston.^[8] The route then approaches the Ashley River.

Charleston to Georgetown

In Charleston, US 17 traverses the Ashley River Drawbridges and comes onto the Charleston Peninsula, being routed north of the city's historical areas. The first portion is at-grade and has a few traffic signals for flow purposes. Upon reaching the eastern terminus of I-26, US 17 becomes controlled-access and above grade as it approaches the Cooper River via the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and the stretch of US 17 in Charleston is infamous among locals for its traffic congestion, especially on weekday mornings.

Upon crossing the river, the highway enters Mount Pleasant at grade and is signalized for several miles up through the second interchange with I-526 and connecting roads to the Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island. The road leaves the Charleston metropolitan area by entering the Francis Marion National Forest and going through the rural communities of Awendaw and McClellanville on its northeastern journey to Georgetown. US 17 crosses the marsh-lined Santee River as it enters Georgetown County. After going through Georgetown, US 17 crosses eastward over the Waccamaw–Pee Dee river system before making a northward turn along the Grand Strand.^[8]

Georgetown to the North Carolina state line

The last component of US 17 runs close to the Atlantic Ocean, beginning at Hobcaw Barony and DeBordieu Colony, passing by Pawleys Island, and going past the Litchfield beaches and Murrells Inlet. It enters Horry County. It passes Garden City, Surfside Beach, and arrives in Myrtle Beach. US 17 splits here between a business route and the standard route, which remains west of the beach and tourist areas served by US 17 Business. The roads rejoin north of the city and continue as US 17 through Atlantic Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Little River where the South Carolina Welcome Center can be found across from the intersection with SC 179 before crossing into North Carolina.^[8] The portions from Murrells Inlet to the state line are quite congested at times, though the soon to be constructed I-73 should assist in alleviating many traffic issues.

History

The route was part of the 1926 approved plan for a national system of highways and appears on the approved map. When first signed, US 17 followed a route that went through Florence and Marion.^[9] The original route through South Carolina was 288 miles (463 km) long.

At the time, U.S. Highways in South Carolina used a dual-numbering system; US 17 was also signed SC 1 from Georgia to Yemassee, SC 30 from Yemassee to Walterboro, SC 6 from Walterboro to Charleston, SC 2 from Charleston to Goose Creek, SC 41 from Goose Creek to Florence, SC 3 from Florence to North Carolina.^[10] By 1928, all the dual numbers had been removed except for SC 2. The entire route from Georgia to North Carolina was paved by 1930.^[11] At one point, the route from Green Pond to Jacksonboro was SC 32.^{[citation needed]}

In 1931, the route was extended to Punta Gorda.^[12]

The early routing was already identified to be shifted to the King's Highway which would pass through Myrtle Beach and Georgetown; rerouting occurred in 1935.^[9]

In 1941, the segment of roadway between the Tullifinny River and Harbor River was widened to four lanes.^[13]^[14]

In 1947, US 17 was relocated to stay onto King Street and Columbus Street in Charleston.^[15]

In 1952, a one-way pair was created in Charleston near the Ashley River Bridge. By 1959, this had been modified again to use Spring Street.^[15]

In 1956, US 17 was widened to four lanes between Ridgeland and Pocotaligo. That same year, it was widened to four lanes between what is now SC 171 and Downtown Charleston.

In 1961, a second draw span over the Ashley River was opened to traffic, this was done to reduce congestion.^[16] This one was officially named the T. Allen Legare Bridge.^[17]

In 1963, the segment of roadway between Myrtle Beach and Atlantic Beach was widened to four lanes.

The first tourist welcome center in South Carolina opened in February 1968 on US 17 near Little River.^[18]

In December 1968, the segment of roadway in Downtown Charleston was moved off of local streets and onto the Crosstown Expressway.^[19]

A segment of US 17 between Ridgeland and Point South once contained two four-lane divided sections. The first is in Coosawhatchie between north of the culvert for Little Bees Creek and north of the bridge over the Coosawhatchie River. From 1971 to 1975, portions of the segment were relocated onto I-95. The divided section in Coosawhatchie remains intact, while the northbound lane near the Tullifinny wetlands was closed, and today is used for a fishing pier, a parking lot of a church, and a private home.^{[citation needed]}

In 1980, the road was widened to four lanes between Awendaw and McLellanville.^{[citation needed]}

In 1981, a bypass of Myrtle Beach was opened, US 17 Business was designated in its former place. it involved constructing new roadways, as well as utilizing existing roadways.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997, US 17 was rerouted to cross the Georgia state line through Savannah, this new segment replaced US 17 Alt. The old route into Georgia became part of an extended SC 170.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the Crosstown Expressway segment concurrent with Lee Street was permanently closed. In its place, a new concurrency with I-26 was created, and a new Meeting Street interchange was also constructed. This was done as part of a project to replace the obsolete Cooper River bridges.^{[citation needed]}

On April 21, 2010, the Crosstown Expressway was renamed the Septa Clark Expressway.^[20]

ACE Basin widening project

The widening project addressed a 22-mile segment of the highway stretching from Gardens Corner in Beaufort County to Jacksonboro in Colleton County. This segment of the road, notorious for its high accident rate, was featured on a NBC Dateline special titled America's Most Dangerous Roads.^[21] In 1985, the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) recognized the need to improve the segment of US 17 due to substantial capacity and safety concerns.^[22] The project faced delays due to environmental challenges.^[23] Between 1997 and 2005, the segment experienced nearly 1,000 crashes, including 33 fatalities.^[24]

The project widened the two-lane roadway into a four-lane highway with a grass median. The improvements included better roadway alignments, replacement of bridges, and improved intersections, including the US 17 / US 21 intersection, which was changed into a diamond interchange with a roundabout. The estimated cost for the entire project was $173.4 million.^[25]

Name designations

Several sections of the highway have name designations. A section in the Crosstown from Cannon Street and Spring Street to the eastern terminus of I-26 is named the Septima P. Clark Parkway, after a U.S. civil rights activist.^[26]^[27] A 3.6-mile (5.8 km) section in West Ashley running from South Carolina Highway 7 (SC 7) to South Carolina Highway 171 (SC 171) is named the Charleston Nine Memorial Highway, in honor of nine Charleston firefighters killed in the line of duty in the Charleston Sofa Super Store fire on June 18, 2007.^[28] A section in Beaufort and Colleton counties is named the W. Brantley Harvey Highway.^[29] A section from 8th Avenue North to Starwatch Drive in Horry County is named the George Rayford Vereen Highway.^[30] A section from Old Jacksonboro Road to South Carolina Highway 7 (SC 7) is named the Curtis B. Inabinett, Sr. Highway.^[31]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Jasper		0.000	0.000	US 17 south / SR 404 Spur south – Savannah	Continuation from Georgia
		4.100	6.598	SC 315 north (South Okatie Highway) – Bluffton, Hilton Head Island, Beaufort	Southern terminus of SC 315
		6.610	10.638	SC 170 west (Alligator Alley) – Port Wentworth	Southern end of SC 170 concurrency
	Limehouse	8.110	13.052	SC 170 east (Freedom Parkway) – Hilton Head Island, Beaufort	Northern end of SC 170 concurrency
	Hardeeville	13.050	21.002	I-95 – Florence, Jacksonville	I-95 exit 5
		13.740	22.112	US 321 north (Deerfield Road) – Augusta	Southern terminus of US 321; to Jasper Power Plant
		14.050	22.611	SC 46 (Main Street) – Tillman, Hilton Head Island
		16.020	25.782	US 278 east to I-95 – Beaufort, Hilton Head Island	Southern end of US 278 concurrency
	Ridgeland	26.410	42.503	SR 13 south to I-95 – Savannah, Florence	Northern terminus of S-27-13
		28.680	46.156	SC 336 (Main Street) – Tillman
		28.820	46.381	US 278 west – Hampton	Northern end of US 278 concurrency
		30.158– 30.670	48.535– 49.359	I-95 south – Savannah	Southern end of I-95 concurrency; I-95 exit 22
		36.180	58.226	SC 462 – Coosawhatchie	I-95 exit 28
	Point South	40.560– 40.820	65.275– 65.693	I-95 north – Florence	Northern end of I-95 concurrency; I-95 exit 33
Beaufort	Pocotaligo	42.580	68.526	US 21 north (Castle Hall Road) / US 17 Alt. north – Yemassee, Walterboro	Southern end of US 21 concurrency; southern terminus of US 17 Alt.
Beaufort	Gardens Corner	48.860– 49.120	78.633– 79.051	US 21 south (Trask Parkway) – Beaufort	Northern end of US 21 concurrency
Colleton	Green Pond	61.145	98.403	SC 303 north (Green Pond Highway) – Walterboro	Southern terminus of SC 303
Colleton	Jacksonboro	71.172	114.540	SC 64 west (Charleston Highway) – Walterboro	Eastern terminus of SC 64
Charleston	Osborn	78.160	125.786	SC 174 south – Edisto Beach	Northern terminus of SC 174
	Ravenel	84.120	135.378	SC 165 – Younges Island, Summerville
	Ravenel	90.030	144.889	SC 162 west – Hollywood, Edisto Beach	Eastern terminus of SC 162
	Charleston	97.440	156.814	SC 7 north (Sam Rittenburg Boulevard)	Southern terminus of SC 7
		97.530– 97.540	156.959– 156.975	I-526 east – North Charleston, Charleston International Airport	Western terminus of I-526; provides access to Charleston International Airport
		101.060	162.640	SC 171 (Wesley Drive) – James Island, Folly Beach
		101.221– 101.340	162.899– 163.091	SC 61 north (St. Andrews Boulevard) – Summerville	No access from US 17 to SC 61 south, from SC 61 south to US 17 south, or from SC 61 north to US 17
		101.440	163.252	SC 700 south (Folly Road Boulevard) – Folly Beach	No access from US 17 north to SC 700; northern terminus of SC 700
		101.823– 101.827	163.868– 163.875	Ashley River Memorial Bridge across the Ashley River
		102.149– 102.220	164.393– 164.507	SC 30 west / Lockwood Drive – James Island, Folly Beach	Eastern terminus of SC 30
		103.170	166.036	King Street (US 78)	Southbound exit only; southern end of I-26 concurrency; eastern terminus of I-26; ramp end at Carolina Street, which leads to King Street.
		103.750	166.969	I-26 west – North Charleston, Columbia	Northern end of I-26 concurrency
		103.857– 104.155	167.142– 167.621	Meeting Street (US 52)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		104.200– 104.820	167.694– 168.691	East Bay Street / Morrison Drive (US 52 Spur)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Charleston–Mount Pleasant line	105.496	169.779	Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge over the Cooper River
	Mount Pleasant	106.430– 106.565	171.282– 171.500	SC 703 north (Coleman Boulevard) – Sullivan's Island	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of SC 703
		106.607	171.567	Wingo Way	No access from US 17 to Wingo Way or from Wingo Way to US 17 north
		109.690– 109.780	176.529– 176.674	I-526 west / I-526 BS east (Chuck Dawley Boulevard) to SC 703 – North Charleston, Savannah	No access from US 17 north to I-526 Bus., from US 17 south to I-526, from I-526 ro US 17 north, or from I-526 Bus. to US 17 south; eastern terminus of I-526; western terminus of I-526 Bus.
		110.130– 110.220	177.237– 177.382	I-526 west / Hungryneck Boulevard east – North Charleston, Savannah	Western terminus of Hungryneck Boulevard; Representative H.B. "Chip" Limehouse III Interchange
		111.640	179.667	SC 517 south (Isle of Palms Connector) – Isle of Palms	Northern terminus of SC 517
		114.140	183.691	SC 41 north / Dingle Road east – Huger	Southern terminus of SC 41; western terminus of Dingle Road
	McClellanville	140.060	225.405	SC 45 north / South Pinckney Street south	Southern terminus of SC 45; northern terminus of South Pinckney Street
Georgetown	Georgetown	162.770– 162.879	261.953– 262.128	US 521 north (Highmarket Street) / US 701 north (Fraser Street) / US 17 Alt. south (Exchange Street) – Andrews, Walterboro, Conway	Northern terminus of US 17 Alt; southern terminus of US 521 and US 701
	Georgetown	164.391– 165.070	264.562– 265.654	L.H. Siau Bridges across the Pee Dee, Black, and Waccamaw rivers (Intracoastal Waterway)
	Murrells Inlet	181.830	292.627	US 17 Bus. north – Murrells Inlet	Southern terminus of US 17 Bus.
	Murrells Inlet	185.190	298.034	SC 707 (Burgess Road) to SC 31 – Conway, North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet
Georgetown–Horry county line	Murrells Inlet–Garden City line	185.570	298.646	US 17 Bus. north (US 17 Conn. north) – Garden City, Surfside Beach	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of US 17 Conn.
Horry	Garden City	189.389	304.792	Glenns Bay Road south / Holmestown Road north – Surfside Beach	Interchange
	Socastee	191.769– 191.775	308.622– 308.632	SC 544 (Dick Pond Road) to SC 31 – Socastee, Conway, Surfside Beach	Nelson Jackson Memorial Interchange
	Socastee–Myrtle Beach line	194.465	312.961	SC 707 south (Socastee Boulevard) / Farrow Parkway south – Socastee, Horry-Georgetown Technical College Grand Strand Campus	Northern terminus of SC 707 and Farrow Parkway; interchange
	Myrtle Beach	196.595	316.389	George Bishop Parkway west / Harrelson Boulevard south – Fantasy Harbour, Myrtle Beach International Airport	Eastern terminus of George Bishop Parkway; northern terminus of Harrelson Boulevard; interchange
		197.625– 197.655	318.047– 318.095	US 501 – Myrtle Beach, Conway	Cloverleaf interchange
		201.905	324.935	Grissom Parkway to SC 31 – Downtown	No northbound south exit
		205.199– 205.545	330.236– 330.793	US 17 Bus. south (Kings Highway) – Myrtle Beach	Northern terminus of US 17 Bus.
		207.325– 207.735	333.657– 334.317	SC 22 west (Conway Bypass) to SC 31 / US 501 – Conway	Eastern terminus of SC 22; interchange
	North Myrtle Beach	211.215	339.918	SC 65 north (27th Avenue South) – Crescent Beach	Southern terminus of SC 65
		213.685	343.893	Robert Edge Parkway north (SC 31 Conn. north) / Main Street south – Wampee, Downtown North Myrtle Beach	Southern terminus of SC 31 Conn. and Robert Edge Parkway; northern terminus of Main Street
		215.725	347.176	SC 9 south – Cherry Grove Beach	Southern end of SC 9 concurrency; interchange
	Little River	216.522– 216.523	348.458– 348.460	SC 90 – Conway	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		216.575– 216.735	348.544– 348.801	SC 9 north to SC 31 – Loris, Dillon	Northern end of SC 9 concurrency
		217.825– 217.845	350.555– 350.588	SC 90 west – Conway	Eastern terminus of SC 90
		220.835	355.399	SC 179 north / Graystone Boulevard – Calabash	Southern terminus of SC 179
		221.454	356.396	US 17 north – Shallotte, Wilmington	Continuation into North Carolina
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access