South Carolina Highway 121
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by SCDOT | ||||
| Length: | 134.1 mi[1] (215.8 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1964 – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: |
      US 1 / US 25 / US 78 / US 278 / SR 10 / SR 121 at the GA state line near North Augusta | |||
 I-20 in North Augusta  US 178 / SC 39 in Saluda US 378 in Saluda US 76 in Newberry I-26 in Newberry US 176 near Whitmire  US 321 / SC 9 in Chester | ||||
| North end: |
  US 21 / SC 322 in Rock Hill | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties: | Aiken, Edgefield, Saluda, Newberry, Union, Chester, York | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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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 in Rock Hill. Efforts to have the road upgraded to such status have failed however.
Route description
South Carolina Highway 121 continues its concurrency with U.S. Route 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 at Exit 22 and Interstate 20 in South Carolina(at Exit 5).
In Trenton, US 25 turns left onto SC 19 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.
In Saluda, SC 121 is overlapped by U.S. Route 178/SC 39, then intersects U.S. Route 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 U.S. Route 76. Further north it encounters a quarter-cloverleaf interchanges with Interstate 26(at Exit 72).
North of Newberry, it encounters yet another concurrency with U.S. Route 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.
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.
In Chester SC 121/72 has another concurrency, this time with U.S. Route 321/SC 9. This concurrency runs southeast until US 321 branches off to the south at the southern terminus of US BUS 321. 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 BUS 9. 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 BUS 72), while SC 97 continues north.
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, U.S. Route 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.
History
SC 121 had two previous stents in the state before settling in its current role. The first SC 121 was established in 1925 or 1926 as a new primary routing; it traveresed 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 | State line | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 1 south / US 25 south / US 78 west / US 278 west / SR 10 west / SR 121 south – Augusta | Crosses the Savannah River |
| North Augusta | 0.2 | 0.3 | 5th Street Bridge / River North Drive | ||
| 0.7 | 1.1 | US 1 north / US 78 east / US 278 east – Aiken | North end of US 1 and east end of US 78/US 278 overlap | ||
| 1.6 | 2.6 |   SC 125 / SC 230 (Atomic Road) – North Augusta, Savannah River Site | South end of SC 230 overlap | ||
| 2.1 | 3.4 | SC 230 north (Martintown Road) – Lake Thurmond | North end of SC 230 overlap | ||
| 3.8 | 6.1 |  US 25 Bus. south (Georgia Avenue) – Augusta | |||
| 4.8 | 7.7 |  SC 126 east (Belvedere Clearwater Road) – Clearwater | |||
| 6.4 | 10.3 |  To I-520 | I-520 exit 22. | ||
| 7.2 | 11.6 | I-20 – Columbia, Atlanta | I-20 exit 5. | ||
| Edgefield | Trenton | 20.5 | 33.0 |  US 25 north / SC 19 south – Edgefield, Aiken | North end of US 25 overlap |
| 27.1 | 43.6 |  SC 191 south – Aiken | |||
| Johnston | 28.4 | 45.7 |  SC 23 – Edgefield, Ridge Spring | ||
| Saluda | 36.4 | 58.6 |  SC 193 south – Ward | ||
| Saluda | 40.9 | 65.8 | US 178 east / SC 39 south (Batesburg Highway) – Batesburg-Leesville, Ridge Spring | East end of US 178 and south end of SC 39 overlap | |
| 41.2 | 66.3 | US 378 (Church Street) – Lexington, McCormick | |||
| 41.5 | 66.8 | US 178 west / SC 39 north (Greenwood Highway) – Greenwood, Chappells | West end of US 178 and north end of SC 39 overlap | ||
| Newberry | Silverstreet | 56.7 | 91.2 |  SC 34 west – Silverstreet, Greenwood | West end of SC 34 overlap; to Ninety Six National Historic Site |
| Newberry | 61.3 | 98.7 | SC 34 east (Boundary Street) – Newberry | East end of SC 34 overlap | |
| 64.1 | 103.2 |  SC 395 south (Nance Street) – Newberry | |||
| 65.7 | 105.7 | US 76 – Prosperity, Clinton | |||
| 67.5 | 108.6 | I-26 – Columbia, Spartanburg | I-26 exit 72. | ||
| 73.4 | 118.1 | US 176 east – Pomaria | East end of US 176 overlap | ||
| Whitmire | 81.0 | 130.4 |   SC 72 west (Union Street) to SC 66 – Whitmire, Clinton | West end of SC 72 overlap | |
| Union | 82.4 | 132.6 | US 176 north – Union | West end of US 176 overlap | |
| Carlisle | 91.6 | 147.4 |  SC 215 north (King Kennedy Street) – Santuc, Union | North end of SC 215 overlap | |
| Chester | 95.5 | 153.7 | SC 215 south (Fairfield Road) – Monticello, Columbia | South end of SC 215 overlap | |
| Chester | 107.9 | 173.6 | US 321 / SC 9 north / West End Street – Chester, Lockhart | North end of US 321/SC 9 overlap | |
| 109.7 | 176.5 |    US 321 / SC 97 south / US 321 Bus. north (Columbia Road) – Winnsboro, Great Falls | South end of US 321/SC 97 overlap | ||
| 110.9 | 178.5 |  SC 9 south (Lancaster Highway) / SC 9 Bus. north – Lancaster | South end of SC 9 overlap | ||
| 111.9 | 180.1 | SC 97 north (J.A. Cochran Bypass) – York, Hickory Grove | North end of SC 97 overlap | ||
| Lewis | 117.2 | 188.6 |  SC 909 east (Rodman Road) | East end of SC 909 overlap | |
| 117.3 | 188.8 | SC 909 west (Aaron Burr Road) | West end of SC 909 overlap | ||
| York | 123.8 | 199.2 |  SC 324 west – York | ||
| Rock Hill | 127.9 | 205.8 |  SC 72 east (Saluda Street) / SC 901 (Mount Holly Road) – Rock Hill, Edgemoor | East end of SC 72 overlap | |
| 128.1 | 206.2 |  SC 5 north (Heckle Boulevard) | North end of SC 5 overlap | ||
| 130.4 | 209.9 | SC 5 south – Lancaster, Columbia | South end of SC 5 overlap | ||
| 130.7 | 210.3 | US 21 south (Anderson Road) – Lancaster, Columbia | South end of US 21 overlap | ||
| 132.0 | 212.4 |  SC 122 (Dave Lyle Boulevard) | To Catawba Reservation | ||
| 134.1 | 215.8 | US 21 north / SC 322 west (Cherry Road) – Fort Mill | North end of US 21 overlap | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Bannered routes
Chester business loop
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|---|---|
| Location: | Chester, South Carolina |
| Length: | 2.6 mi[8] (4.2 km) |
| Existed: | 1964–N/A |
SC 121 Business 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
- South Carolina portal
- U.S. Roads portal
- Central Savannah River Area
References
- 1 2 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
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Media related to South Carolina Highway 121 at Wikimedia Commons - Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page: SC 120-129