Photos of the Construction
of the I-385 - I-85 Interchange

 
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See the original plans, from the SC DOT 385-85 interchange construction website.



From the southwest


From the south


From the southeast


From the north



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3 February 2018, from the south










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13 October 2018, from the south










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4 April 2019, along I-85, north of I-385



Showing construction of the ramp leading up to the flyover to go from I-85 South to I-385 South

Note the gray crushed-stone ramp, and the retaining walls on both sides.




The ramp and its retaining walls must be built up to match the level of the girders of the flyover.


These are stacks of the panels which are used to build the retaining walls.   They are stored face down; note the bolts used for attachment to the stays, which are buried in the gravel of the ramp.



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Picture from 26 April 2019, showing the ramp end and flyover






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25 May 2019



I-85 is on the left, looking Southbound.   The Shops at Green Ridge are on the opposite side of the interchange, and the Harley-Davidson shop is on the left.   Note the construction of the flyover for traffic going from I-85 South to I-385 South.


From above Roper Mountain, showing the construction of the flyover for traffic going from I-85 South to I-385 South.


Looking Southbound above the Roper Mountain exit on I-385.   I-385 South curves away to the right, and Woodruff Road can be seen in the distance at top right.   The big white rectangle in the upper center is part of the I-385 overpass that is still under construction.


From above Magnolia Park (the old Greenville Mall area), looking Southbound.


From above Magnolia Park; the GE plant is on the opposite side of the interchange.
*   Note the cloverleaf in the center, which will be replaced by the I-85S-to-I-385S flyover when it is complete.
*   Near it, note the partially-constructed bridge and dirt ramp, which cannot be completed until the cloverleaf is shut down.
      That route will be the exit ramp from I-385 South to the Woodruff Road exit near Sam's, Merovan Center, IHOP


Above the Millenium Campus - Woodruff Road is in the foreground, with the Shops at Green Ridge and the interchange behind it.
*   Note that the exit to Woodruff Road at far left is only for I-85 South, not I-385.


From above Sam's and the GE plant, looking northbound on I-385.
The corner of the Shops at Green Ridge are on the left, and Garlington Road crosses in the foreground.


From above the GE plant; I-85 runs from the right side to the upper left.   I-385 goes from upper left to upper right.


From above the GE plant and I-85, focusing on the flyover for traffic going from I-85 South to I-385 South.



Looking straight down I-85 South, with a good view of the I-385 overpass and the I-85S-to-I-385S flyover construction.
*   Upper-left are the Shops at Green Ridge; upper right is Magnolia Park.
*   At the lower left is the Harley-Davidson shop; to its right are the temporary ramps onto I-85 North from both South and North I-385,
      as well as the wider permanent ramp under construction.
*   Bridges across I-85, from close to far:
 
    (1) I-85N to I-385N,
(2) I-385N to I-85S,
    (3) I-385N/S thru traffic,
(4) I-85S to   I-385S,
    (5) I-385S to I-85N (crosses under bridge 4),
(6) Woodruff Road.
 *   A seventh bridge over I-85 is partially completed, and will provide an exit from I-385S to Woodruff Road, as noted above.
      It will be behind bridge 4 and go above bridge 5, as well as through the area currently occupied by the remaining cloverleaf.



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13 June 2019



The support girders for the last bridge on the I-85 South to I-385 South flyover are now in place.



Detail photo from the ground, on the north side



Detail photo from the ground, on the south side



The Roper Mountain Road bridge, showing its nearer lanes, under construction -
*   the partly-finished ramps for I-385 traffic joining I-85 North on the left, and
*   the partly finished ramps for I-85S traffic heading for I-385 on the right.




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8 October 2019



Greenville Journal article on the I-85 / I-385 Interchange


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24 November 2019



Above I-85, looking Southbound towards the interchange.   That is the Roper Mountain Road bridge in the foreground; fully complete.   The Harley-Davidson shop is the white-topped building on the middle-left, near the interchange.   The Shops at Green Ridge are at upper-left, and Magnolia Park (the old Greenville Mall area) is at upper-right.


Over Roper Mountain Road, looking southwest.   I-85 goes from lower-left to upper-right.   I-385 goes from upper-left to right.   The Shops at Green Ridge are at the top, beyond the interchange.   The Harley-Davidson shop is on the left.   This shot shows the new flyover, for traffic going from I-85 South to I-385 South, which allowed the shut-down of the old cloverleaf so that work on the final major ramp could be underway (see below).


Looking Southbound from I-385, above the Roper Mountain Road exit.   I-385 South curves away to the right, and I-85 goes from left to right.   Magnolia Park is to the right, as are the Shops at Green Ridge, in the background.   The GE plant is in the background-left.


This shot shows the final major piece of roadwork yet to be completed, the ramp for traffic going from I-385 South to exit onto Woodruff Road.   Note the unpaved dirt ramp at lower-center, with the two steam shovels just beyond, as well as the other construction equipment.   This is the section which had to await the closure of the cloverleaf before it could be completed.


This shot is of I-385 looking north, from above the Smith-Hines Road bridge.   I-385 curves to the upper-left, towards Greenville, and I-85 goes from upper-left to center-top.   Woodruff Road crosses in the foreground, as crowded as ever.   Merovan is at the lower-right, Sam's Club is on the upper-right, and in the upper-left are the Shops at Green Ridge.


Looking north along I-85.   From nearest to furthest, the bridges are:
        1. The final bridge, under construction.   It will carry traffic from I-385 Southbound to the Woodruff Road exit.
            The construction had to wait for the closure of the old cloverleaf mentioned above.
        2. The flyover for traffic going from I-85 Southbound to I-385 Southbound.   This flyover just opened a couple of weeks ago.
            It had to be open before the cloverleaf could be closed, which it replaced.
        3. The main I-385 bridge, for thru-traffic in both directions.
        4. Traffic from Woodruff Road going to I-385 North, towards Greenville.
        5. The flyover for traffic going from I-85 North to I-385 North.
        6. The Roper Mountain Road bridge over I-85.
The Harley-Davidson shop is on the right.   Between it and I-85, you can see the on-ramps for traffic from both I-385 North and I-385 South onto I-85 North.   Some finishing and cosmetic clean-up still remains to be completed, but the ramps are in their intended final positions.


The Shops at Green Ridge are in the foreground, with the interchange beyond.   I-385 goes from lower-right to upper-left.   I-85 goes from upper-right, disappearing under all the bridges, to middle-left.   The Roper Mountain Road bridge is partially visible at upper-right, crossing over I-85.



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22 February 2020



This photo was taken from over Roper Mountain, looking south. I-385 is coming out of Greenville at the lower-right, and vanishes into the distance at top center. I-85 crosses left to right. The Shops at Green Ridge are at middle-right, and Sam's is at middle-left.

Following I-385 from near (at lower right) to far, the bridges going over it are:
1. the bridge for traffic on I-385 northbound going to I-85 southbound;
2. the bridge for traffic on I-85 southbound, going to I-385 southbound;
3. the Woodruff Road bridge, from the Shops at Green Ridge area on the right, past Sam's, middle left;
4. the Smith-Hines Road bridge (no exits);
5. (in the far distance) Butler Road bridge.


Over the Roper Mountain Road exit, over I-385, looking south. I-85 goes from left to right. The Shops at Green Ridge are at middle-right, and Magnolia Park (the old Greenville Mall area) is at lower right. In the exact middle of the photo can be seen the final major component of the interchange, the exit for I-385 southbound traffic going to Woodruff Road, with its green berm to its right. This section had to wait until the old cloverleaf was replaced by the flyover for I-85 southbound traffic headed for I-385 southbound. As with most of the interchange, cosmetic landscaping remains to be completed.


In this photo, I-385 goes from middle-left to middle-right. I-85 goes from lower-left to upper-right. The Shops at Green Ridge are at lower right, and the Harley-Davidson shop is the white-roofed building at upper-right. The bridges going over I-85 from nearest to furthest are:
1. at the very bottom-left of the photo, you can see a sliver of the Woodruff Road bridge over I-85;
2. the bridge for traffic going from I-385 southbound to I-85 northbound (goes over I-85, but under the other bridges);
3. the bridge for traffic going from I-385 southbound to Woodruff Road;
4. the bridge for traffic going from I-85 southbound to Woodruff Road and to I-385 southbound;
5. the bridge for I-385 through-traffic - three lanes in each direction;
6. the bridge from I-385 northbound to I-85 southbound;
7. the bridge for I-85 northbound traffic going to I-385 northbound;
8. in the distance, Roper Mountain Road bridge.


This photo was taken while over Sam's and Staples, off Woodruff Road. The railroad tracks for the GE plant can be seen at lower right. Garlington Road croses left to right, about one-third up from the bottom of the photo. The Shops at Green Ridge are at middle-left, and just above them I-85 crosses from left to right. This photo shows the merging of traffic headed for Woodruff Road, from (left to right) I-385 southbound, I-85 southbound, and I-85 northbound. This merged traffic has the option to stay to the right and exit for Woodruff Road, or to stay to the left and go southbound on I-385.



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