South Carolina Highway 121
South Carolina Highway 121 (SC 121) is a major state highway that runs north and south in the western part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The road is actually part of a long multi-state route that also goes through Florida and Georgia. Some see it as a de facto auxiliary route from U.S. Route 21 (US 21) in Rock Hill. Efforts to have the road upgraded to such status have failed however.
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 Route of SC 121 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by SCDOT | ||||
| Length | 134.1 mi[1] (215.8 km) | |||
| Existed | 1964–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |       | |||
| North end |   | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Aiken, Edgefield, Saluda, Newberry, Union, Chester, York | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
SC 121 continues its concurrency with U.S. Route 25 (US 25) from Augusta, Georgia into North Augusta, South Carolina. In the Schultz Hill section of North Augusta, US 25/SC 121 leaves the concurrency with US 1 and US 78, and heads north. Still within North Augusta, it has an interchange with Interstate 520 (I-520) at exit 22 and I-20 (at exit 5).[1]
In Trenton at the northern terminus of SC 19, US 25 turns to the north and SC 121 becomes an independent route for the first time. From there it runs mainly through rural western South Carolina. Johnston is where the route serves as the northern terminus of SC 191 and later crosses SC 23.[1]
In Saluda, SC 121 is overlapped by US 178/SC 39, then intersects US 378. The overlap with US 178/SC 39 ends at Travis Road. Later it crosses a bridge over the Saluda River and is then overlapped with SC 34 until it reaches Newberry. Barely inside Newberry, the route becomes the terminus of SC 395 and then has a major intersection with US 76. Further north it encounters a quarter-cloverleaf interchanges with I-26 (at exit 72).[1]
North of Newberry, it encounters yet another concurrency with US 176, which it follows straight north before curving to the west as it enters Whitmire, where the routes make a sharp turn to the east and encounters the beginning of a long concurrency with SC 72. After a bridge over the Enoree River, the concurrency with US 176 ends just east of Whitmire.[1]
SC 121/72 runs through Carlisle where it has another concurrency with SC 215, which ends east of the bridge over the Broad River, which contains a monument to an American Revolutionary battle known as the Battle of Fishdam Ford.[1]
In Chester SC 121/72 has another concurrency, this time with US 321/SC 9. This concurrency runs southeast until US 321 branches off to the south at the southern terminus of US 321 Business (US 321 Bus.). The routes continue to the east along SC 97, running beneath a railroad bridge, and then turning toward the north. SC 9 makes a right turn at Lancaster Avenue, which is the eastern terminus of SC 9 Bus. SC 121/72/97 has an at-grade crossing with another railroad line leading to the city, and then SC 121/72 branches off to the right at Saluda Road (SC 72 Bus.), while SC 97 continues north.[1]
The concurrency with SC 72 finally ends at SC 901 in Rock Hill. Within the city, it joins briefly with SC 5, before merging with its final concurrency, US 21. Traversing east of the downtown area, its journey ends at Cherry Road, where US 21 continues north towards Fort Mill, while also connecting with SC 322.[1]
History
SC 121 had two previous stints in the state before its current routing was established. The first SC 121 was established in 1925 or 1926 as a new primary routing; it traversed from SC 27 in Aiken, northeast through Wagener and Pelion, to SC 2/SC 12 in Springdale. In 1928, it was renumbered as SC 215.
The second SC 121 was established in 1929 or 1930 as new primary routing; it traversed from US 21 in Branchville, east through Bowman, to SC 31 in Providence. In 1937 or 1938, SC 121 was extended along US 78 before branching off to end at SC 65; its eastern terminus was also extended to US 15. In 1940, SC 121 was extended southwest to SC 362, and east to SC 6 in Vance. In 1948, SC 121 was truncated on both ends, from US 21 to US 15; its routing to SC 61 became Farrell's Road (S-5-18). By 1952, it was extended east to SC 310 in Vance. In 1953, it was extended completely back to SC 6. In 1962-1964, the entire route was renumbered as SC 210.[2][3]
The third, and current, SC 121 was established in 1962-1964, which formed a three-state route (continues south as Georgia State Route 121 and Florida State Road 121 to Lebanon Station, Florida). From North Augusta to Rock Hill, it was placed on concurrencies with various highways throughout the state; with exception around Whitmire, where it replaced part of SC 19. Its routing has remained unchanged since inception.[4][5][6][7]
Junction list
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiken | North Augusta | 0.0 | 0.0 | | Continuation beyond Georgia state line over the Savannah River |
| 0.2 | 0.32 | 5th Street Bridge / River North Drive | |||
| 0.7 | 1.1 | | North end of US 1 and east end of US 78/US 278 overlap | ||
| 1.6 | 2.6 |   | South end of SC 230 overlap | ||
| 2.1 | 3.4 | | North end of SC 230 overlap | ||
| 3.8 | 6.1 |  | |||
| 4.8 | 7.7 |  | |||
| 6.4 | 10.3 |  | I-520 exit 22. | ||
| 7.2 | 11.6 |  | I-20 exit 5. | ||
| Edgefield | Trenton | 20.5 | 33.0 |  | North end of US 25 overlap |
| | 27.1 | 43.6 |  | ||
| Johnston | 28.4 | 45.7 |  | ||
| Saluda | | 36.4 | 58.6 |  | |
| Saluda | 40.9 | 65.8 |   | East end of US 178 and south end of SC 39 overlap | |
| 41.2 | 66.3 |  | |||
| 41.5 | 66.8 | | West end of US 178 and north end of SC 39 overlap | ||
| Newberry | Silverstreet | 56.7 | 91.2 |  | West end of SC 34 overlap; to Ninety Six National Historic Site |
| Newberry | 61.3 | 98.7 | | East end of SC 34 overlap | |
| 64.1 | 103.2 |  | |||
| 65.7 | 105.7 |  | |||
| | 67.5 | 108.6 |  | I-26 exit 72. | |
| | 73.4 | 118.1 |  | East end of US 176 overlap | |
| Whitmire | 81.0 | 130.4 |   | West end of SC 72 overlap | |
| Union | | 82.4 | 132.6 | | West end of US 176 overlap |
| Carlisle | 91.6 | 147.4 |  | North end of SC 215 overlap | |
| Chester | | 95.5 | 153.7 | | South end of SC 215 overlap |
| Chester | 107.9 | 173.6 |   | North end of US 321/SC 9 overlap | |
| 109.7 | 176.5 |    | South end of US 321/SC 97 overlap | ||
| 110.9 | 178.5 |  | South end of SC 9 overlap | ||
| 111.9 | 180.1 | | North end of SC 97 overlap | ||
| Lewis | 117.2 | 188.6 |  | East end of SC 909 overlap | |
| 117.3 | 188.8 | | West end of SC 909 overlap | ||
| York | | 123.8 | 199.2 |  | |
| Rock Hill | 127.9 | 205.8 |  | East end of SC 72 overlap | |
| 128.1 | 206.2 |  | North end of SC 5 overlap | ||
| 130.4 | 209.9 | | South end of SC 5 overlap | ||
| 130.7 | 210.3 | | South end of US 21 overlap | ||
| 132.0 | 212.4 |  | To Catawba Reservation | ||
| 134.1 | 215.8 | | North end of US 21 overlap | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Special routes
Chester business loop
| |
|---|---|
| Location | Chester, South Carolina |
| Length | 2.6 mi[8] (4.2 km) |
| Existed | 1964–N/A |
SC 121 Business (SC 121 Bus.) was established in 1964 to run concurrently with SC 72 Bus.; through downtown Chester, via West End Street, Main Street and Saluda Street/Road. It was never part of mainline SC 121, as it bypassed Chester to the south and east with SC 72. It is unknown when the business loop was decommissioned.
See also
References
- Google (April 7, 2014). "South Carolina Highway 121" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- General Highway Map, Orangeburg County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1940. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- General Highway Map, Orangeburg County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1966. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- General Highway Map, Aiken County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1963. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- General Highway Map, Aiken County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1967. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- General Highway Map, Newberry County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1963. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- General Highway Map, Newberry County, South Carolina (PDF) (Map). Cartography by SCDOT. South Carolina Department of Transportation. 1968. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
- Google (September 1, 2013). "South Carolina Highway 121 Business - Chester" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
External links
- Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page: SC 120-129