Existed: 1927 – present Length 273.7 km | North end: US 1 near Wallace Constructed 1927 | |
South end: US 1 / US 25 / US 78 / US 278 / SR 10 / SR 121 in North Augusta Counties Marlboro County, South Carolina | ||
U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a north–south United States highway that traverses along through the South Carolina sandhills region; it connects the cities of North Augusta, Aiken, Lexington, Columbia, Camden, and Cheraw.
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Route description
US 1 enters South Carolina in North Augusta. From North Augusta to Aiken, US 1 is a divided four-lane highway. It goes through the historic district of Aiken, heading north through Batesburg-Leesville, Lexington, into Columbia up to Camden. US 1 parallels I-20, crossing it three times until it branches northeast at Camden. It also has junctions with I-26 and I-77 in Columbia. In Richland County, it goes through downtown Columbia along Gervais Street, passing directly in front of the State Capitol building; connecting via Millwood Avenue, it continues northeast along Two Notch Road, named for when the road was marked by posts with two notches carved. From Camden, it continues northeast as a two-lane road to the town of Cheraw and Cheraw State Park before entering the state of North Carolina.
The entire route is part of the Jefferson Davis Highway, named after Civil War Confederate leader Jefferson Davis; with exception between North Augusta and Aiken, where US 1 was realigned, leaving SC 421 its section of the highway name. Markers of the highway dot all along the route, though most sections do have other road names too.
Though US 1 connects to several urban areas in the state, it has fallen out of favor with most travelers, replaced by I-20 and I-95. Most urban areas are multi-lane with some sections divided, while the rural areas continue to be two-lane.
History
US 1 was established in 1927 as an original US route. It traveled generally as it does now, overlapping with SC 12, from North Augusta to West Columbia, SC 2, from West Columbia to Columbia, and SC 50, from Columbia to the North Carolina border. The following year, both SC 12 and SC 50 were dropped along the route. The entire route was paved by 1932.
Around 1938, US 1 was rerouted between Cheraw and Wallace, going further north along its now current alignment, leaving behind Hickson Road (S-35-52) and Brickyard Road (S-35-36). The first section widen to four-lane was a 2-mile (3.2 km) section north of Columbia, in 1940. Between 1940-1946, US 1 was rerouted in Columbia; originally using Gervais Street, Assembly Street, Taylor Street, and Two Notch Road, switching to Gervais Street, Harden Street, Taylor Street, and Two Notch Road. By 1952, US 1 was rerouted again in Columbia, switching to Gervais Street, Millwood Avenue, and Two Notch. Also by 1952, US 1/US 78 were given new alignment bypassing Clearwater, Bath, Langley, and Gloverville; the old alignment became SC 421. By 1957, US 1/US 78 was rerouted from Fifth Street Bridge to its current alignment over the Savannah River.