Getting home after work is about to get •a lot• easier. A $1.5 billion overhaul of the infamous Malfunction Junction (a.k.a. where I-20, I-26 and I-126 meet) is in the works.

Two proposals that provide solutions to the traffic mess that’s caused where I-20 and I-26 meet (plaguing 134K motorists each day) were presented on Tuesday by SCDOT. Both were made with “the latest components in freeway design.”

1⃣️ One plan removes the cloverleaf exits and on-ramps at the meeting point, replacing them with longer ramps for merging traffic.

2⃣️ The other plan keeps the cloverleaf and adds extended ramps.

Both plans call for:

🚘 Freeway-style ramps

🚘 Wider frontage roads

🚘 Another traffic lane each way on I-26

🚘 Separating local traffic from vehicles passing through Cola to Charleston or Greenville

🚘 Removing the Bush River Rd. interchange off I-26 (replacing with a modified Colonial Life Blvd. interchange)

🙌 And both would cut down rush hour traffic wait times on I-26 from 16 mins to 2 mins.

One of the proposals will be selected by March 2018 + submitted to federal highway officials for review. Construction will begin in 2019 and could take up to seven years to finish.

3 min read / The State