Interstate 126

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title: "Interstate 126" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["transportation-in-columbia,-south-carolina", "auxiliary-interstate-highways", "interstate-highways-in-south-carolina", "interstate-26", "u.s.-route-76", "transportation-in-richland-county,-south-carolina"] description: "Highway in South Carolina" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_126" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Highway in South Carolina ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox road"]

Field	Value
state	SC
route	126
type	I
map
map_custom	yes
map_notes	I-126 highlighted in red
alternate_name	Lester Bates Freeway
length_mi	3.68
length_ref
established	1961
direction_a	West
terminus_a	in Columbia
direction_b	East
terminus_b	in Downtown Columbia
counties	Richland
spur_type	I
spur_of	26
previous_type	SC
previous_route	125
next_type	SC
next_route	126
::

|state=SC |route=126 |type=I |map= |map_custom=yes |map_notes=I-126 highlighted in red |alternate_name=Lester Bates Freeway |length_mi=3.68 |length_ref= |established=1961 |direction_a=West |terminus_a= in Columbia |junction= |direction_b=East |terminus_b= in Downtown Columbia |counties=Richland |spur_type=I |spur_of=26 |previous_type=SC |previous_route=125 |next_type=SC |next_route=126

Interstate 126 (I-126) is a spur route of I-26 entirely within the city limits of Columbia in the US state of South Carolina. It is entirely concurrent with U.S. Route 76 (US 76) and connects I-26 to Downtown Columbia. It is 3.68 miles long and has three unnumbered interchanges between its junction with I-26 and its terminus at Gadsden Street. The Riverbanks Zoo is a major attraction on I-126.

Route description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/I-126.jpg" caption="I-126 with [[Columbia, South Carolina]] skyline"] ::

I-126 begins in northwestern Columbia at an interchange with parent route I-26 and US 76 along the Saluda River. The terminus is located near the Dutch Square shopping center and I-26's own interchange with I-20, nicknamed "Malfunction Junction", which includes a weaving ramp from I-126's westbound lanes to I-20. The eight-lane freeway travels southeast along the Saluda River and passes the Riverbanks Zoo at Greystone Boulevard. It then crosses over the Broad River on the Timmerman Bridge near the mouth of the Saluda River. I-126 enters Downtown Columbia and reaches its easternmost interchange with Huger Street, which carries US 21, US 176, and US 321. The freeway continues east for several blocks on Elmwood Avenue, which carries the highways that Huger Street did, and ends at Gadsden Street near the South Carolina Governor's Mansion.

I-126 is officially named the Lester Bates Freeway for former Columbia mayor Lester Bates. All of its exits are unnumbered. The entire length of the freeway is concurrent with US 76, which continues west on I-26 towards Georgia and east to North Carolina.

History

Construction started on I-126 in 1959, and it was completed in 1961 as a four-lane freeway spur of I-26. The last sections of both freeways opened on May 16, 1961, as part of National Highway Week. In the early 1980s, it was widened to six lanes from I-26 to Greystone Boulevard and eight lanes from there to Huger Street. By the 1990s, a lane was added eastbound from Colonial Life Boulevard to Greystone Boulevard and westbound from Greystone Boulevard to a new I-20 exit just before its western terminus. The eastern terminus of I-126 has fluctuated between Huger Street and Gadsden Street.

I-126 was designated the Lester Bates Freeway in April 1986 in honor of former Columbia mayor Lester Bates, who served three terms in the 1960s.

Future

I-20/I-26 interchange

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), is proposing improvements to the Interstate corridor of I-20/I-26/I-126, including the system interchanges at I-20/I-26 and I-26/I-126 in Lexington and Richland counties. These improvements are proposed to increase mobility and enhance traffic operations by reducing existing traffic congestion within the I-20/I-26/I-126 corridor, while accommodating future traffic needs. The corridor's approximately 14 mi of mainline Interstate include I-26 from exit 101 (Broad River Road/US 176) to east of the Saluda River, I-20 from the west of the Saluda River to west of the Broad River, and I-126 from I-26 to east of the interchange with Colonial Life Boulevard.

Exit list

All exits are unnumbered except the second exit on the eastbound lanes. |mile=0.000 |mile2=0.316 |type=concur |exit=— |road= |notes=Western terminus; western end of US 76 concurrency; I-20 exit 64; I-26 exit 108 |mile=0.801 |exit=108A |road= |notes=Exit number based on using I-26 exit numbering, only showed on eastbound; no exit number on westbound |exit=— |mile=1.850 |road= |mile=3.346 |mile2=3.360 |type=concur |exit=— |road= |notes=Western end of US 21/US 176/US 321 concurrency |mile=3.680 |type=concur |exit=— |road= |notes=Eastern terminus; eastern end of US 21/US 176/US 321 and US 76 concurrencies

Interstate 126 Business

|state=SC |type=BS |route=126 |location=Columbia, South Carolina |formed= |deleted= |length_mi=0.9 |length_ref= |header_type=former Interstate 126 Business (I-126 Bus) was a boulevard-grade business spur of I-126 along Elmwood Avenue between Huger Street and Bull Street in concurrence with US 21/US 76/US 176/US 321. The route was never marked on state, county, or city highway maps. Signage proliferated along the westbound route in the late 1970s from Bull Street to Assembly Street. These signs were added with a major signage overhaul on Elmwood Avenue around 1978 when US 21/US 176/US 321 were moved from Assembly Street to Huger Street, SC 215 was removed from the route and SC 48 was extended up Assembly Street to Elmwood Avenue. However, by 2000, only one sign remained, and this was gone by the mid-2000s. At some point, I-126 absorbed part of the business spur from Huger Street to Gadsden Street. It is considered decommissioned as no current state or federal maps list it nor does any physical signage exist.

References

References

1. (2018). "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2018". [[Federal Highway Administration]].
2. (December 14, 2020). "Highway Logmile Report: I-126". [[South Carolina Department of Transportation]].
3. Feit, Noah. (September 22, 2020). "$1.6 billion Malfunction Junction makeover plan gets OK, and projected start date". [[The State (newspaper).
4. "Interstate 126".
5. {{Cite SCDOT map. (2021)
6. Beam, Adam. (December 24, 2008). "City plans to name boulevard for MLK". The State.
7. (May 13, 1961). "New Interstate 26's Final Line Opens Tuesday; Public Invited". The Columbia Record.
8. (May 17, 1961). "Ceremonies Officially Open Tri-Level Traffic Exchange". The State.
9. (December 7, 1984). "Agency severing link with jobs experiment". The State.
10. (1963). "General Highway Map, York County, South Carolina". [[South Carolina Department of Transportation]].
11. Corvini, Margaret. (April 19, 1986). "Lane change". The State.
12. "Construction Phasing".
13. "Overview map of I-126 Bus. (Columbia)".

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