Interstate 26 in South Carolina
Interstate 26 is a South Carolina Interstate highway running east–west from near Landrum, in Spartanburg County, to U. S. Route 17, in Charleston, South Carolina, it is the longest interstate highway in South Carolina. I-26 runs 220 miles through South Carolina. Mile markers run from west to east. Mile Marker 0 is in the mountains at the NC state line; the last exit, at US 17 south of Charleston, is exit 221. I-26 runs between the Broad and Saluda Rivers, descending from the mountains to the piedmont or midlands. At Columbia, I-126 crosses the confluence of the Broad and Saluda, which together form the Congaree, near the Columbia Canal and water treatment plant. I-26 continues following the Congaree, until it hops south over into the Cooper and Ashley Drainage down to the coast. I-26 is predominantly a four-lane rural interstate with 70-mile-per-hour speed limits. In the Columbia and Charleston areas, the interstate widens to six-lanes. I-26 enters South Carolina just northeast of Landrum; the first major city along its route is Spartanburg, where it intersects I-85 to Greenville and Charlotte.
As the interstate weaves along the terrain, it reaches Clinton. Traveling through the Sumter National Forest, it connects with Newberry before entering the Midlands. At Columbia in a section known as "Malfunction Junction", it connects with I-20, to Augusta and Florence, I-126 towards the downtown area. At Cayce, it connects with I-77 to Charlotte. South of Cayce, the interstate goes up and down a few long hills before reaching the outskirts of Orangeburg and I-95, to Savannah and Florence; as it enters the flat plains of the Lowcountry, the area becomes urbanized as the interstate encroaches upon North Charleston and Charleston. As the interstate curves through the peninsula formed by the Ashley and Cooper rivers, it connects with I-526, to Savannah and Mount Pleasant. Near the end, it overlaps with US 17 from its new interchange to where the old interchange remnants and where I-26 ends. Construction of I-26 began in 1957 in the Columbia area with the 9-mile section from the Broad River to near Irmo.
The 11-mile section of I-26 from I-126/US 76 in Columbia to US 176 at Exit 97 was the first section of the highway to open up to traffic. The 6-mile section from SC 210 to US 15 opened in September 1962. Construction proceeded in stages heading both west up towards Greenville and east towards Charleston; the highway was completed from Columbia to North Charleston by 1964. The entire 221 miles of I-26 were completed by February 1969. In the 1980s-90s, I-26 around Columbia was widened from four to six lanes. In the mid-90s, the North Charleston area was widened from four to six lanes, part of, further widened to eight lanes in the early 2010s. In 2005, the US 17 was realigned to a new interchange with I-26 at exit 220 from exit 221. In the mid-2010s, I-26 was widened SE of Columbia from I-77 to Old Sandy Run Rd. Starting in 2019 or 2020, a long stretch of I-26 NW of Columbia will begin widening construction from four to six lanes from SC 202 at Little Mountain to US 76/176 at Irmo. In 2011, a plan to add a lane in each direction between Broad River Road and St. Andrews Road through "Malfunction Junction" had $8.5 million in funding but was expected to start sometime after 2012 and take two years.
On October 5, 2016, I-26 had all lanes converted to westbound only, from I-77 to I-526, due to Hurricane Matthew. This was done again on September 11, 2018 due to Hurricane Florence; the lane reversal is still in effect as of September 12, 2018. On November 19, 2016, construction began in Charleston to demolish and replace exits 217 and 218, related to a new access road to the Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. Terminal. Ashley River Enoree River Lake Murray Saluda River Sumter National Forest Media related to Interstate 26 in South Carolina at Wikimedia Commons Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page: I-26 Economic Development History of Interstate 26 in South Carolina - Federal Highway Administration
Hernando de Soto
Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador, involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula, played an important role in Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, but is best known for leading the first Spanish and European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States. He is the first European documented as having crossed the Mississippi River. De Soto's North American expedition was a vast undertaking, it ranged throughout the southeastern United States, both searching for gold, reported by various Indian tribes and earlier coastal explorers, for a passage to China or the Pacific coast. De Soto died in 1542 on the banks of the Mississippi River. Hernando de Soto was born in Extremadura, Spain, to parents who were both hidalgos, nobility of modest means; the region was poor and many people struggled to survive. He was born in the current province of Badajoz. Three towns—Badajoz and Jerez de los Caballeros—claim to be his birthplace, he spent time as a child at each place.
He stipulated in his will that his body be interred at Jerez de los Caballeros, where other members of his family were buried. As he grew to adulthood, the Spanish took back control of the Iberian peninsula from Islamic forces. Spain and Portugal were filled with young men seeking a chance for military fame after the defeat of the Moors. With discovery of new lands across the ocean to the west, young men were attracted to rumors of adventure and wealth. De Soto sailed to the New World with Pedrarias Dávila, appointed as the first Governor of Panama. In 1520 he participated in Gaspar de Espinosa's expedition to Veragua, in 1524, he participated in the conquest of Nicaragua under Francisco Hernández de Córdoba. There he acquired a public office in León, Nicaragua. Brave leadership, unwavering loyalty, ruthless schemes for the extortion of native villages for their captured chiefs became de Soto's hallmarks during the conquest of Central America, he gained fame as an excellent horseman and tactician.
During that time, de Soto was influenced by the achievements of Spanish explorers: Juan Ponce de León, the first European to reach Florida. In 1530, de Soto became a regidor of Nicaragua, he led an expedition up the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula searching for a passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean to enable trade with the Orient, the richest market in the world. Failing that, without means to explore further, de Soto, upon Pedro Arias Dávila's death, left his estates in Nicaragua. Bringing his own men on ships which he hired, de Soto joined Francisco Pizarro at his first base of Tumbes shortly before departure for the interior of present-day Peru. Pizarro made de Soto one of his captains; when Pizarro and his men first encountered the army of Inca Atahualpa at Cajamarca, Pizarro sent de Soto with fifteen men to invite Atahualpa to a meeting. When Pizarro's men attacked Atahualpa and his guard the next day, de Soto led one of the three groups of mounted soldiers; the Spanish captured Atahualpa.
De Soto was sent to the camp of the Inca army, where his men plundered Atahualpa's tents. During 1533, the Spanish held Atahualpa captive in Cajamarca for months while his subjects paid for his ransom by filling a room with gold and silver objects. During this captivity, de Soto taught him to play chess. By the time the ransom had been completed, the Spanish became alarmed by rumors of an Inca army advancing on Cajamarca. Pizarro sent de Soto with 200 soldiers to scout for the rumored army. While de Soto was gone, the Spanish in Cajamarca decided to kill Atahualpa to prevent his rescue. De Soto returned to report. After executing Atahualpa and his men headed to Cuzco, the capital of the Incan Empire; as the Spanish force approached Cuzco, Pizarro sent his brother Hernando and de Soto ahead with 40 men. The advance guard fought a pitched battle with Inca troops in front of the city, but the battle had ended before Pizarro arrived with the rest of the Spanish party; the Inca army withdrew during the night.
The Spanish plundered Cuzco, where they found much silver. As a mounted soldier, de Soto received a share of the plunder, which made him wealthy, it represented riches from Atahualpa's camp, his ransom, the plunder from Cuzco. On the road to Cuzco, Manco Inca Yupanqui, a brother of Atahualpa, had joined Pizarro. Manco had been hiding from Atahualpa in fear of his life, was happy to gain Pizarro's protection. Pizarro arranged for Manco to be installed as the Inca leader. De Soto joined Manco in a campaign to eliminate the Inca armies under Quizquiz, loyal to Atahualpa. By 1534, de Soto was serving as lieutenant governor of Cuzco while Pizarro was building his new capital on the coast. In 1535 King Charles awarded Diego de Almagro, Francisco Pizarro's partner, the governorship of the southern portion of the Inca Empire; when de Almagro made plans to explore and conquer the southern part of the Inca empire, de Soto applied to be his second-in-command, but de Almagro tur
Guignard Brick Works
Guignard Brick Works is a historic industrial site and national historic district located in Cayce, Lexington County, South Carolina. The brick works was established by the Guignard family in 1801 and over the years produced brick for many buildings in Columbia, South Carolina and throughout the South; the complex includes four brick beehive kilns, a historic brick office, remnants of other industrial features of the brick works. Three of the four remaining kilns were built around 1920, the other was built in 1932. Clay for brickmaking was obtained from banks of the nearby Congaree River; the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. National Register of Historic Places listings in Lexington County, South Carolina NRHP Nomination Form
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of transferring of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails known as tracks. It is commonly referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a prepared flat surface, rail vehicles are directionally guided by the tracks on which they run. Tracks consist of steel rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock fitted with metal wheels, moves. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a rail transport system encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger and freight cars can be coupled into longer trains; the operation is carried out by a railway company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway electrification system or produce their own power by diesel engines.
Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system. Railways are a safe land transport system. Railway transport is capable of high levels of passenger and cargo utilization and energy efficiency, but is less flexible and more capital-intensive than road transport, when lower traffic levels are considered; the oldest known, man/animal-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC in Greece. Rail transport commenced in mid 16th century in Germany in the form of horse-powered funiculars and wagonways. Modern rail transport commenced with the British development of the steam locomotives in the early 19th century, thus the railway system in Great Britain is the oldest in the world. Built by George Stephenson and his son Robert's company Robert Stephenson and Company, the Locomotion No. 1 is the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. George Stephenson built the first public inter-city railway line in the world to use only the steam locomotives all the time, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830.
With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution. Railways reduced the costs of shipping, allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships; the change from canals to railways allowed for "national markets" in which prices varied little from city to city. The spread of the railway network and the use of railway timetables, led to the standardisation of time in Britain based on Greenwich Mean Time. Prior to this, major towns and cities varied their local time relative to GMT; the invention and development of the railway in the United Kingdom was one of the most important technological inventions of the 19th century. The world's first underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway, opened in 1863. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, leading to electrification of tramways and rapid transit systems. Starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being complete by the 2000s.
During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan and in some other countries. Many countries are in the process of replacing diesel locomotives with electric locomotives due to environmental concerns, a notable example being Switzerland, which has electrified its network. Other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. Following a decline after World War II due to competition from cars, rail transport has had a revival in recent decades due to road congestion and rising fuel prices, as well as governments investing in rail as a means of reducing CO2 emissions in the context of concerns about global warming; the history of rail transport began in the 6th century BC in Ancient Greece. It can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of track material and motive power used. Evidence indicates that there was 6 to 8.5 km long Diolkos paved trackway, which transported boats across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece from around 600 BC.
Wheeled vehicles pulled by men and animals ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element, preventing the wagons from leaving the intended route. The Diolkos was in use for over 650 years, until at least the 1st century AD; the paved trackways were later built in Roman Egypt. In 1515, Cardinal Matthäus Lang wrote a description of the Reisszug, a funicular railway at the Hohensalzburg Fortress in Austria; the line used wooden rails and a hemp haulage rope and was operated by human or animal power, through a treadwheel. The line still exists and is operational, although in updated form and is the oldest operational railway. Wagonways using wooden rails, hauled by horses, started appearing in the 1550s to facilitate the transport of ore tubs to and from mines, soon became popular in Europe; such an operation was illustrated in Germany in 1556 by Georgius Agricola in his work De re metallica. This line used "Hund" carts with unflanged wheels running on wooden planks and a vertical pin on the truck fitting into the gap between the planks to keep it going the right way.
The miners called the wagons Hunde from the noise. There are many references to their use in central Europe in the 16th century; such a transport system was used by German miners at Cal
Midlands of South Carolina
The Midlands region of South Carolina is the middle area of the state. The region's main center is the state's capital; the Midlands is so named because it is halfway point between the Lowcountry. The main area code is 803; the area has become a major business center in the state, for its growing production of paper products, medical supplies and steel. It is a center for farming and medical care; the area is involved in attractions and tourism, featuring shopping and amusement. The Midlands area of South Carolina includes at least these eight counties: Calhoun Fairfield Kershaw Lexington Orangeburg Richland Saluda Sumter Lee County Clarendon County Newberry County Aiken CountyThis region is coextensive with the Columbia metropolitan area; the Columbia television and radio market includes the eight core counties plus Lee and Newberry. The middle portion of Orangeburg County is located in the Midlands, while the western part is located in the Central Savannah River Area and the eastern part is considered to be located in the Lowcountry.
Aiken County is frequently listed as part of the Central Savannah River Area. Columbia and Lexington 122,819 Sumter, Sumter 39,159 Orangeburg, Orangeburg 13,563 Cayce, Lexington 12,597 Forest Acres Richland 10,558 Irmo and Lexington 11,338 Lexington, Lexington 17,110 Newberry, Newberry 10,874 West Columbia Lexington 13,670 Dentsville, Richland 13,009 Gadsden, Richland Hopkins, Richland 13,025 Lake Murray of Richland, Richland 3,526 Lugoff, Kershaw 6,278 Mitford, Fairfield Seven Oaks, Lexington 15,755 St. Andrews, Richland 21,814 Woodfield, Richland 9,238 The region is served by four commercial television stations, WLTX CBS 19, WOLO ABC 25, WACH FOX 57, WIS 10; the state's second largest newspaper, The State, is published here. Interstate 20 Interstate 77 Interstate 95 Interstate 26 Interstate 126 US 321 US 21 US 1 US 76 US 176 US 178 US 378 US 15 US 301 US 601 US 521 SC 277 SC 12 SC 34 SC 261
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation is a Class I railroad operating in the eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates 21,000 route miles of track; the company operates as a subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. CSX Corporation was formed on November 1, 1980, by combining the railroads of the former Chessie System with Seaboard Coast Line Industries; the name came about during merger talks between Chessie System and SCL called "Chessie" and "Seaboard". The company chairmen said it was important for the new name to include neither of those names because it was a partnership. Employees were asked for suggestions. At the same time a temporary shorthand name was needed for discussions with the Interstate Commerce Commission. "CSC" was belonged to a trucking company in Virginia. "CSM" was taken. The lawyers decided to use "CSX", the name stuck. In the public announcement, it was said. C can stand for Chessie, S for Seaboard, X, which has no meaning."
However, an August 9, 2016, article on the Railway Age website stated that "... the'X' was for'Consolidated' ". The T had to be added to CSX when used as a reporting mark because reporting marks that end in X means that the car is owned by a leasing company or private car owner; the company introduced its current slogan, "How Tomorrow Moves", in 2008. The originator of SCL was the former Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967 to form the Seaboard Coast Line. In years, it merged with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, as well as several smaller subsidiaries such as the Clinchfield Railroad, Atlanta & West Point Railroad, Monon Railroad and the Georgia Railroad. From the late 1960s onward these railroads were known collectively as the Family Lines. In 1982, they were merged into the Seaboard System Railroad; the origin of the Chessie System was the former Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, which had merged with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, the Western Maryland Railway.
Despite the merger in 1980, CSX Transportation never had its own identity as a common carrier railroad until 1986. In that year, Seaboard System changed its name to CSX Transportation. On April 30, 1987, the B&O merged into the C&O. With the Western Maryland having merged into the C&O, this left the C&O as the sole operating railroad under the Chessie System banner. On August 31, 1987, C&O/Chessie System merged into CSX Transportation, bringing all of the major CSX railroads under one banner. On June 23, 1997, CSX and Norfolk Southern Railway filed a joint application with the Surface Transportation Board for authority to purchase and operate the assets of the 11,000-mile Conrail, created in 1976 by bringing together several ailing Northeastern railway systems into a government-owned corporation. On June 6, 1998, the STB approved the CSX–NS application and set August 22, 1998, as the effective date of its decision. CSX acquired 42 percent of Conrail's assets, NS received the remaining 58 percent.
As a result of the transaction, CSX's rail operations grew to include some 3,800 miles of the Conrail system. CSX began operating its trains on its portion of the Conrail network on June 1, 1999. CSX now serves much of the Eastern United States, with a few routes into nearby Canadian cities. In 2014, Canadian Pacific Railway approached CSX with an offer to merge the two companies, but CSX declined, in 2015 Canadian Pacific made an attempt to purchase and merge with Norfolk Southern, but NS declined to do so as well. In 2017, CSX announced. CSX added five new directors including Harrison and Mantle Ridge founder Paul Hilal. Mantle Ridge owns 4.9 percent of CSX. On December 14, 2017, CSX announced. Two days after the announcement, Harrison died, one day after being hospitalized for complications of an ongoing illness. CSX saw a 10% drop in its stock price, but turned around to hit a new 52-week high less than a month later. CSX operates the Juice Train which consists of Tropicana cars that carry fresh orange juice between Bradenton and the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey.
The train runs from Bradenton to Fort Pierce, via the Florida East Coast Railway. In the 21st century, the Juice Train has been studied as a model of efficient rail transportation that can compete with trucks and other modes in the perishable-goods trade. All Tropicana trains are now added to Intermodal Trains such as Q188 and Q124. Coke Express trains run between Pittsburgh and Chicago, other places in the Rust Belt, carrying coke to industries steel mills. CSX runs daily trash trains Q702 and Q703 from The Bronx to Philadelphia and Petersburg, where they interchange with NS; these trains consist of 89-foot flatcars loaded with four containers of trash. Another pair of trains, Q710 and Q711, originate in Kearny, New Jersey, terminate in Russell, Kentucky. Another style of unit train is a local trash train, D765, that runs between the Maryland towns of Derwood and Dickerson; the train runs daily except on Sundays. Trash is carried from Montgomery County's Shady Grove Transfer Station to a was
West Columbia, South Carolina
West Columbia is a city and commuter town in the suburban eastern sections of Lexington County, South Carolina, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was 14,988, it is SC metropolitan statistical area. West Columbia lies west of South Carolina, directly across the Congaree River, it is near Columbia's city center or downtown district as well as the South Carolina State House and the Congaree Vista, known locally as "the Vista." West Columbia is bordered to the south by its sister suburb, South Carolina. West Columbia was incorporated in 1894 as Brookland, but the United States Postal Service called the town "New Brookland" since there was another town called Brookland. In 1936, the name was changed to West Columbia to emphasize its proximity to Columbia, South Carolina. Numerous businesses, churches and a high school retain the New Brookland names; the Gervais Street Bridge, Mount Hebron Temperance Hall, New Brookland Historic District, Saluda Factory Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 2008 South Carolina Learjet 60 crash occurred just before midnight on September 19, 2008, when a Learjet 60 crashed while taking off from Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina. The weather at the time was cool and clear; the plane hit runway lights and crashed through the boundary fence, crossing South Carolina Highway 302, coming to rest on an embankment by the side of the highway. No one on the ground was hurt, but four of the six people on the plane died in the crash, while the other two, Travis Barker and Adam Goldstein, suffered severe burns; the plane was a charter flight taken by Barker and their entourage following a performance by their musical group TRV$DJAM at a free concert in Five Points earlier that night to Van Nuys, California. West Columbia lies to the west of the Saluda and Congaree Rivers. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 square miles, of which 6.1 square miles is land and 0.2 square mile is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,064 people, 5,968 households, 3,300 families residing in the city.
The population density was 2,150.6 people per square mile. There were 6,436 housing units at an average density of 1,059.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 74.54% White, 19.81% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.04% from other races, 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.66% of the population. There were 5,968 households out of which 22.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 44.7% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.76. In the city, the population was spread out with 18.8% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $30,999, the median income for a family was $40,253. Males had a median income of $30,033 versus $24,637 for females; the per capita income for the city was $18,135. About 12.8% of families and 16.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.5% of those under age 18 and 11.4% of those age 65 or over. West Columbia is the home of Glenforest School. Columbia Metropolitan Airport Lexington Medical Center Riverbanks Zoo and Garden History of West Columbia City of West Columbia Lexington School District 2 Glenforest School
Media related to Cayce, South Carolina at Wikimedia Commons
