U.S. Route 17 Alternate (South Carolina)

U.S. Route 17 Alternate
Route information
Alternate route of US 17
Maintained by SCDOT
Length:	123.4 mi (198.6 km)
Existed:	1951 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 17 / US 21 near Pocotaligo
	US 15 in Walterboro US 78 in Summerville I-26 in Summerville US 176 in Summerville US 52 in Moncks Corner US 521 in Sampit
North end:	US 17 / US 701 in Georgetown
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced South Carolina Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic

U.S. Route 17 Alternate (US 17 Alt) is an alternate route of U.S. Route 17 in South Carolina that runs between Pocotaligo and Georgetown. It is 123.4 miles (198.6 km) long and has been four-laned in various segments since 1970.

Route description

US 17 Alt starts at the northern terminus of the US 17-21 overlap near Pocotaligo as a two-lane highway. It heads north along US 21 through Yemassee, where it passes over the CSX Charleston Subdivision and then an over SC 68. Due to the presence of a parallel railroad spur along the north side of SC 68, access to and from US ALT 17-21 is only available from bi-directional on-off ramps on the southwest and southeast corners of the bridge. The multiplex continues until US 21 branches off on its own to the northwest. From here it runs through Hendersonville, and then Walterboro, where it merges with SC 63, becomes the northern terminus of SC 303, and the southern terminus of US 15. From that point, US 17 Alt moves away from I-95, running along the southeast side of Lowcountry Regional Airport and moving further northeast. In Summerville, it intersects US 78, has an interchange with I-26, and intersects US 176. At Moncks Corner, it intersects US 52 and crosses the Dennis Bishop Bridge over the Cooper River. Aftet crossing the W.H. Andrews Memorial Bridge over the Santee River, it joins another multiplex with US 521 in Sampit, and both routes finally terminate at US 17, along with the southern terminus of US 701 in Georgetown.

History

US 17 Alt was established in 1951 as a renumbering of mainline US 17 from near Pocotaligo to Walterboro, SC 64 from Walterboro to Moncks Corner, SC 179 from Moncks Corner to Jamestown, and SC 528 north of Jamestown to Sampit. US 17 Alt was also overlapped with US 52 in Moncks Corner, SC 41 around Jamestown, and US 521 between Sampit and Georgetown.

The first section to be widen four-lane was in 1970 from US 78 to I-26. This followed with four-lane sections in Georgetown (1974), its concurrency with US 52 in Moncks Corner (1975), and its concurrency with SC 64 in Walterboro (1979). Since the late 1990s, US 17 Alt has been widening slowly into four-lane from I-26 towards Moncks Corner.

A second US 17 Alt did exist in South Carolina from 1955 to 1994, from the Georgia state line to Limehouse. Today it is part of mainline US 17.

Junction list

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Beaufort	​	0.0	0.0	US 17 / US 21 south (Trask Parkway) – Beaufort, Savannah	South end of US 21 overlap
Hampton	Yemassee	3.8	6.1	SC 68 west (Connely Street) – Hampton, Allendale
Colleton	​	7.5	12.1	US 21 north (Low Country Highway) – Smoaks	North end of US 21 overlap
	Walterboro	22.6	36.4	SC 63 west (Sniders Highway) – Varnville	West end of SC 63 overlap
		24.0	38.6	SC 303 south (Green Pond Highway) – Green Pond
		24.3	39.1	SC 63 east (Hampton Street) – Jacksonboro	East end of SC 63 overlap; to USC Salkehatchie
		24.5	39.4	US 15 north (Jefferies Boulevard) – St. George
		24.7	39.8	20px SC 64 Bus. west (Paul Street) – St. George, Barnwell	West end of SC 64 Bus overlap
		25.4	40.9	20px SC 64 Bus. east (Padgett Loop) – Jacksonboro, Charleston	East end of SC 64 Bus overlap
		26.1	42.0	SC 64 (Robertson Boulevard) – Barnwell, Jacksonboro, Charleston	To USC Salkehatchie
	Cottageville	35.4	57.0	SC 651 north (Rehoboth Road)
Berkeley	The Forks	48.5	78.1	SC 61 north – Ridgeville	North end of SC 61 overlap; to Givhans Ferry State Park
		48.8	78.5	SC 61 south (Beech Hill Road) – Charleston	South end of SC 61 overlap
	Slandsville	50.7	81.6	SC 642 south (Dorchester Road) – North Charleston	To Charleston AFB
	Summerville	57.1	91.9	US 78 (Fifth Street) – Charleston, Ridgeville
		57.9	93.2	SC 165 south (Berlin Myers Parkway) – Ravenel
		58.6	94.3	I-26 – Charleston, Columbia	I-26 Exits 199 A-B
	Goose Creek	62.5	100.6	US 176 – Goose Creek, Charleston, Holly Hill
	Moncks Corner	73.1	117.6	SC 6 (Main Street) – Charleston, Holly Hill
		74.5	119.9	US 52 south – Charleston	South end of US 52 overlap
	​	76.2	122.6	To SC 402 – Cordesville, Huger
	​	76.4	123.0	US 52 north – St. Stephen, Kingstree, Florence	North end of US 52 overlap
	​	90.4	145.5	SC 45 north (Santee River Road) – Alvin, St. Stephen	North end of SC 45 overlap
	Jamestown	94.2	151.6	SC 41 south / SC 45 south – McClellanville, Charleston	South end of SC 45/SC 41 overlap
Georgetown	​	100.0	160.9	SC 41 north – Andrews	North end of SC 41 overlap
	Sampit	113.8	183.1	US 521 north (Georgetown Highway) – Andrews	North end of US 521 overlap
	Georgetown	123.2	198.3	US 521 north (Highmarket Highway) – Myrtle Beach, Charleston	South end of US 521 overlap
		123.4	198.6	US 17 / US 701 north – Pawleys Island, Myrtle Beach, Conway, Charleston
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

See also

• Bannered routes of U.S. Route 17
• Cooper River
• Francis Marion National Forest
• Santee River

External links

• U.S. Routes 17 & ALT 17 in South Carolina (Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page)