I-185's northern portion starts at an at-grade intersection at Henrydale Ave. North of this intersection, US 29 continues as Mills Ave. into downtown Greenville. I-185 travels south with two lanes in each direction to its junction with I-85. At this junction, I-185 has only one lane of thru traffic each way; south of the junction, I-185 returns to two lanes in each direction. In addition, US 29 leaves I-185 and travels concurrently with I-85 for eight miles. South of exit 12, I-185 has a toll in each direction, with one lane in each direction dedicated for travelers with the Palmetto Pass. At exit 10, travelers exiting NB I-185 and entering SB I-185 also are tolled. At this point, I-185 leaves the Greenville city limits and enters Golden Grove. Just north of exit 7, I-185 reenters Greenville. At exit 4, travelers exiting SB I-185 and entering NB I-185 are tolled. South of this interchange is another toll plaza for both directions, again with one lane in each direction for drivers with the Palmetto Pass. Near the end of I-185's southern terminus at I-385, I-185 enters Mauldin. Exit 1A on I-185 NB, Neely Ferry Rd, allows access to . I-185 then splits; one lane exits rights and merges with I-385 SB, while other traffic continues straight to merge with I-385 NB. Traffic toward I-385 NB also can exit on SC 417, an exit with no number. At the merge with I-385 NB, I-185 shrinks to one lane. I-185 ends here.
History
The northern portion, which runs from Interstate 85 to the Greenville city limits, was opened in the 1960s and is co-signed with US 29. The southern portion, which connects the I-85/I-185 interchange with the I-385/U.S. 276 interchange, was opened as a toll road in 2001. This extension was dubbed the "Southern Connector" and increased I-185 from three to seventeen miles in length.
The Southern Connector was constructed as a public-private partnership between the South Carolina Department of Transportation and Interwest Carolina Transportation Group, LLC, a development team that included a not-for-profit corporation called Connector 2000 Association, Inc.. Under this agreement, C2A operates the toll road under a fifty year license. They were responsible for financing, designing, constructing, operating and maintaining the road during this period and the toll revenue would be used to pay them for these efforts. To finance the project, C2A sold bonds that were tax-exempt under IRS Rule 63-20, which provides that the bonds sold will be exempt if they finance an activity which is "public in nature." The highway opened in February 2001, nine months ahead of schedule. By 2007, the Connector 2000 Association was having financial difficulties because ridership on the toll road was not meeting original estimates. In the fall of 2007, the association began looking for a concessionaire to take over the operation and financial liability of the toll road. By early 2008, C2A had received a default notice from their bond trustee In January 2010, the bond trustee missed an interest payment, and the C2A was more than $8 million behind in its payments to SCDOT for the maintenance and license fees under their agreement. On June 24, 2010, the Southern Connector filed for bankruptcy. The corporation emerged from bankruptcy on March 28, 2011 by restructuring bond debt and their concession and maintenance agreement with SCDOT. Tolls were raised on January 2, 2012 as part of the settlement. In 2016, the Southern Connector surpassed 75 million toll transactions since its inception. Between the two main toll plazas, the speed limit has been raised to 70 MPH.
Tolls
There are two toll plazas located along the Southern Connector, known as the east and west plazas. Toll booths are located on entrance/exit ramps on Fork Shoals Road and Piedmont Highway. The toll plazas have both electronic toll collection and cash lanes; toll booths located on ramps accept only ETC or exact change only. Those that do not have exact change or do not pay the toll can fill out a "Pledge Payment Form"; violators have 30 days to remit payment before administrative fees are added to the toll due. Palmetto Pass is the only form of electronic toll collection accepted on the Southern Connector.
