Interstate 20
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox road Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs Template:Convert beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between Texas and South Carolina, I-20 runs through northern Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia. The major cities that I-20 connects to include Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and Columbia, South Carolina.
From its terminus at I-95, the highway continues about Template:Convert eastward into the city of Florence as I-20 Business (I-20 Bus.).
Route descriptionEdit
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I-20 runs from Texas to South Carolina serving major southern economic hubs such as Dallas–Fort Worth and Atlanta.<ref name="Google">Template:Google maps</ref>
TexasEdit
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I-20 begins in western Reeves County at a fork with I-10. From there, the highway travels east-northeastward through Odessa, Midland, and Abilene before turning eastward toward the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The La Entrada al Pacífico corridor runs along I-20 between US Route 385 (US 385) and Farm to Market Road 1788 (FM 1788). Between Monahans and I-10, I-20 has an Template:Convert speed limit.
From the highway's opening in the 1960s through 1977, I-20 originally went through the heart of the metroplex via the Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike. This old route is now signed I-30 (Dallas–Fort Worth Turnpike and from US 80/I-30 intersection at Mesquite to Downtown Dallas), US 80 (former stretch between I-635 and Terrell), and Spur 557 (bypass around Terrell). In 1977, I-20 was rerouted to go through the southern sections of Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Dallas, and Mesquite. It split off from the old route initially at I-820 in west Fort Worth the later on at its current junction near Aledo in Parker County. It rejoins the old route near Terrell. Part of I-20 in Dallas used to be signed as I-635 and shares the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway name with the remainder of I-635. Parts on the south side of Fort Worth were originally signed as I-820.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref>
I-20 continues eastward from Terrell, bypassing Tyler, Longview, and Marshall before crossing the Louisiana border near Waskom.
LouisianaEdit
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In Louisiana, I-20 roughly parallels US 80 through the northern part of the state.
Entering the state from near Waskom, Texas, the highway immediately enters the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, intersecting I-49 near downtown Shreveport and passing close to Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City.
I-20 traverses mainly rural, hilly terrain, bypassing Minden, Grambling, and Ruston before reaching Monroe.
From Monroe, I-20 enters flatter terrain as it approaches the Mississippi River. Before crossing the Mississippi, the highway passes Tallulah. At the Mississippi River, I-20 leaves Louisiana and enters Vicksburg.
MississippiEdit
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Upon entering Mississippi by crossing the Mississippi River, I-20 immediately enters Vicksburg. Between Edwards and Clinton, the highway mostly follows the original two-lane routing of US 80. In Jackson, I-20 sees a short concurrency with both I-55 and US 49. Also in Jackson is an unusually expansive stack interchange, at the junction of I-20, I-55 north, and US 49 south. The interchange replaces a former directional interchange at I-55 north and a cloverleaf interchange at US 49. From the stack, I-20 continues eastward to Meridian, where it begins the nearly Template:Convert overlap with I-59.
The route of the Mississippi section of I-20 is defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3.
AlabamaEdit
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I-20 (along with I-59) crosses the Alabama state line near York, and it stays conjoined as it passes through western Alabama and Tuscaloosa. At Birmingham, the two highways pass through downtown together before splitting at exit 130 just east of Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport. I-20 continues eastward through Oxford–Anniston and the Talladega National Forest, passing by Talladega Superspeedway in the process, which is visible from the highway.
Also in Birmingham, the intersection of I-20/I-59 and I-65 was known as a Malfunction Junction because of the interchange's somewhat-confusing design, and the number of traffic accidents that occurred there. This section of the Interstate and its interchanges have since been reconfigured.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
GeorgiaEdit
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I-20 enters Georgia near Tallapoosa and after passing through western Georgia, it enters the Atlanta metropolitan area. On clear days, eastbound motorists get their first view of Downtown Atlanta as they come over the top of Six Flags Hill. The Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park is easily visible off exit 46 eastbound. The highway then passes through the center of Atlanta, meeting with I-75 and I-85, which share a common expressway (the Downtown Connector). It continues through the Atlanta metropolitan area eastward and through the eastern half of Georgia until it exits the state, crossing the Savannah River at Augusta.
Throughout the state, I-20 is conjoined with unsigned State Route 402 (SR 402). Also, I-20 from the Alabama state line to I-285 in Atlanta is named the "Tom Murphy Freeway", but it is called the "Ralph David Abernathy Freeway" within I-285. The Interstate Highway is also named the Purple Heart Highway from I-285 in DeKalb County to US 129/US 441/SR 24 in Madison, Georgia, and it is called the Carl Sanders Highway from US 129/US 441/SR 24 to the South Carolina state line.
South CarolinaEdit
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Upon leaving Augusta, I-20 crosses the Savannah River and enters the Palmetto State and heads northeastward, bypassing Aiken and Lexington before reaching the state capital of Columbia, which can be reached most directly by taking I-26 east at exit 64 ("Malfunction Junction"), then, almost immediately, I-126/US 76.
At Columbia, I-20 bypasses the city to the north and again turns northeastward, bypassing Fort Jackson and Camden. After crossing the Wateree River, it turns due east and passes by tiny Bishopville, before reaching the Florence area. It is near Florence where I-20 sees its eastern terminus at I-95. However, for about Template:Convert, the highway continues into Florence as I-20 Bus.
I-20 in the Palmetto State is known as either the J. Strom Thurmond Freeway or John C. West Freeway. The first section to be completed was the bridge over the Savannah River in 1965; the last, the section between US 401 and I-95 (including the business spur), opened in August 1975.
HistoryEdit
Template:Expand section I-20 was built in 1957 connecting Texas to the east coast running through Shreveport, Ruston, and Monroe making it their first Interstate.Template:Citation needed
I-20's exit numbers in Georgia were changed in 2000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2003, the North Carolina Department of Transportation proposed extending I-20 eastward from Florence to Wilmington at the behest of North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and his 'Strategic Transportation Plan' for the southeast portion of the state.<ref name="malme">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The proposed route would follow US 76 east from Florence to Whiteville, North Carolina, then parallel US 74/US 76 into Wilmington.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Part of this route is already designated the future eastern extension of I-74. As part of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users transportation legislation, North Carolina received $5 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn) for a feasibility study for this extension.<ref name="malme"/> While this extension has considerable support among towns in southeastern North Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Transportation has stated that they have no interest in upgrading their portion of US 76 to an Interstate. Instead, South Carolina is concentrating their efforts on plans to build I-73 that will terminate near Myrtle Beach. This proposed extension is currently unfunded.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Junction listEdit
- Texas
- Template:Jct in Reeves County
- Template:Jct in Pecos
- Template:Jct in Odessa
- Template:Jct in Big Spring
- Template:Jct east of Roscoe. The highways travel concurrently to the Tye–Abilene city line.
- Template:Jct in Abilene
- Template:Jct in Baird
- Template:Jct in Cisco
- Template:Jct south-southeast of Brazos
- Template:Jct in Hudson Oaks
- Template:Jct northeast of Aledo
- Template:Jct in Fort Worth
- Template:Jct in Fort Worth
- Template:Jct in Benbrook
- Template:Jct in Fort Worth
- Template:Jct in Fort Worth. I-20/US 287 travels concurrently to Arlington.
- Template:Jct in Grand Prairie
- Template:Jct in Dallas
- Template:Jct on the Dallas–Lancaster city line
- Template:Jct on the Dallas–Hutchins city line
- Template:Jct on the Dallas–Balch Springs city line
- Template:Jct in Balch Springs
- Template:Jct in Lindale
- Template:Jct south-southeast of Winona
- Template:Jct northeast of Kilgore. The highways travel concurrently to Longview.
- Template:Jct in Marshall
- Template:Jct west-southwest of Jonesville. The highways travel concurrently to west of Waskom.
- Louisiana
- Template:Jct in Greenwood
- Template:Jct in Shreveport
- Template:Jct in Shreveport
- Template:Jct in Shreveport
- Template:Jct in Shreveport
- Template:Jct in Shreveport
- Template:Jct in Shreveport. The highways travel concurrently to Bossier City.
- Template:Jct in Bossier City
- Template:Jct near Haughton
- Template:Jct in Dixie Inn. The highways travel concurrently to Minden.
- Template:Jct southeast of Minden
- Template:Jct in Ruston
- Template:Jct east-northeast of Calhoun
- Template:Jct in Monroe
- Template:Jct in Rayville
- Template:Jct in Tallulah
- Template:Jct in Delta. The highways travel concurrently to Clinton, Mississippi.
- Mississippi
- Template:Jct in Vicksburg. The highways travel concurrently through Vicksburg.
- Template:Jct in Jackson. I-20/US 49 travels concurrently to Pearl.
- Template:Jct in Jackson. I-20/I-55 travels concurrently to Richland
- Template:Jct in Brandon
- Template:Jct in Brandon
- Template:Jct east-southeast of Lake
- Template:Jct west-southwest of Meridian. The highways travel concurrently to Meridian.
- Template:Jct in Meridian. The highways travel concurrently to Birmingham, Alabama.
- Template:Jct in Meridian. The highways travel concurrently through Meridian.
- Template:Jct in Meridian
- Template:Jct west-northwest of Kewanee
- Alabama
- Template:Jct near Cuba
- Template:Jct south of Knoxville
- Template:Jct in Tuscaloosa
- Template:Jct in Tuscaloosa
- Template:Jct in Tuscaloosa
- Template:Jct in Tuscaloosa
- Template:Jct south of Lake View. The highways travel concurrently to Bessemer.
- Template:Jct southwest of McCalla
- Template:Jct in Birmingham
- Template:Jct in Birmingham
- Template:Jct in Birmingham
- Template:Jct in Birmingham
- Template:Jct in Irondale
- Template:Jct in Leeds
- Template:Jct on the Leeds–Moody line
- Template:Jct northwest of Cooks Springs. The highways travel concurrently to Pell City.
- Template:Jct in Pell City
- Template:Jct in Riverside
- Template:Jct east of Oxford
- Georgia
- Template:Jct in Bremen
- Template:Jct in Atlanta
- Template:Jct in Atlanta
- Template:Jct in Atlanta
- Template:Jct on the Panthersville–Candler-McAfee CDP line
- Template:Jct southeast of Lithonia. The highways travel concurrently to Covington.
- Template:Jct in Social Circle
- Template:Jct in Madison
- Template:Jct in Barnett
- Template:Jct south of Appling
- Template:Jct in Augusta
- South Carolina
- Template:Jct in North Augusta
- Template:Jct in North Augusta
- Template:Jct north-northeast of Aiken
- Template:Jct southeast of Batesburg-Leesville
- Template:Jct east of Lexington
- Template:Jct north of Oak Grove
- Template:Jct on the Seven Oaks–St. Andrews CDP line
- Template:Jct in St. Andrews
- Template:Jct north of Columbia
- Template:Jct in Columbia
- Template:Jct in Dentsville
- Template:Jct on the Dentsville–Woodfield CDP line
- Template:Jct in Lugoff
- Template:Jct in Camden
- Template:Jct southwest of Bishopville
- Template:Jct northeast of Lamar
- Template:Jct in Florence
<ref name=randmcnally>Template:Cite book</ref>
Auxiliary routesEdit
Two I-420s were planned but never completed or built. One was to be a bypass around Monroe, Louisiana, but was never built. The other I-420 was planned as a bypass to the south of Downtown Atlanta. Due to anti-freeway sentiments, this I-420 was never completed, and the already-built portion has been signed as State Route 154 (SR 154)/SR 166, named the Langford Parkway (formerly the Lakewood Freeway).
- Shreveport, Louisiana: I-220
- Jackson, Mississippi: I-220
- Augusta, Georgia: I-520
- Fort Worth, Texas: I-820
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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