U.S. Route 521 is a north–south United States highway that traverses 177.3 miles (285.3 km), from Georgetown, South Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina. Though numbered as a daughter route of U.S. Route 21, it does not actually intersect its parent or any of its sibling routes, though it is in the same general part of the U.S. as other routes from its family. Historically, it once connected to U.S. 21 in Pineville, North Carolina, but various changes have left it terminating a few miles short of the current U.S. 21.
 U.S. Route 521 | |||||||||
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| Route information | |||||||||
| Length | 177.3 mi[1] (285.3 km) | ||||||||
| Existed | 1932–present | ||||||||
| Major junctions | |||||||||
| South end |  US 17 in Georgetown, SC | ||||||||
 US 17 Alt. in Georgetown, SC I-95 near Manning, SC  US 15 / US 401 in Sumter, SC   US 76 / US 76 Bus. / US 378 in Sumter, SC I-20 in Camden, SC   US 1 / US 601 / SC 34 in Camden, SC | |||||||||
| North end |  I-485 in Charlotte, NC | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| Country | United States | ||||||||
| States | South Carolina, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Highway system | |||||||||
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Route description
South Carolina
Starting at the city of Georgetown, US 521 runs through the town Andrews to Greeleyville. From here to the city of Manning it is known as the Greeleyville Highway. There is a brief section right before Manning where it runs concurrent with SC 261. In Manning SC 261 branches off and US 521 merges with US 301 for a short distance. It crosses of Interstate 95 and heads to the city of Sumter, South Carolina. In Sumter, it runs together with US Business 378. Leaving Sumter, US 521 is known as Camden Highway. It passes under Interstate 20 and proceeds to Camden. It then goes on to the town of Kershaw, running concurrent with US 601. The final city it goes through before going into North Carolina is Lancaster.
North Carolina
US 521 traverses 3.8 miles (6.1 km) from the South Carolina state line to Interstate 485. The entire route is a four to six-lane divided highway, split in naming between Lancaster Highway and Johnston Road.
History
Established in 1932, it was overlapped entirely with SC 26, from Georgetown to the North Carolina state line, where it continued with NC 26 into Pineville, where it ended at US 21/NC 261 (now NC 51). In 1933, SC 26 was decommissioned; followed in 1934 with the decommissioning of NC 26.
In 1949, US 521 was rerouted in Williamsburg County to run directly from Andrews, through Salters and Greeleyville, to Manning; which replaced SC 171 and part of SC 261, the old alignment became part of SC 377 and SC 261. Between 1962-64, US 521 was rerouted at the Sumter-Kershaw county line to Camden; the old alignment became an extension of SC 261.
In 1969, US 521 was extended 19 miles (31 km) north, via South Boulevard, and Wilkinson Blvd, then in 1981, by way of Woodlawn Road, and Billy Graham Parkway, to Interstate 85 in Charlotte.
Between 1986-88, US 521 was moved west onto new highway west of Dalzell, bypassing the town; the old alignment was downgraded to secondary roads.
In 1996, US 521 was rerouted onto Interstate 485, between exits 61 and 65; the old alignment was downgraded to secondary roads. In 2003, AASHTO approved US 521 to be truncated at its current northern terminus at the Johnston Road/Interstate 485 interchange; its old alignment north to Interstate 85 was downgraded to secondary roads.[2][3][4]
Future
There are plans to make US 521 a four-lane highway from Georgetown to Interstate 95, in Manning. This would improve a route for beach goers traveling toward the Litchfield/Pawleys area.
Junction list
| State | County | Location | mi[1] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | Georgetown | Georgetown | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 521 begins | ||
| 0.1 | 0.16 | North end of US 17 Alt. overlap | |||||
| Sampit | 9.5 | 15.3 | South end of US 17 Alt. overlap | ||||
| | 16.0 | 25.7 | |||||
| | 18.5 | 29.8 | |||||
| | 19.5 | 31.4 | South end of SC 41 overlap | ||||
| Williamsburg | Andrews | 21.0 | 33.8 | North end of SC 41 overlap | |||
| | 38.0 | 61.2 | |||||
| | 45.5 | 73.2 | |||||
| Greeleyville | 48.5 | 78.1 | |||||
| Clarendon | | 60.5 | 97.4 | East end of SC 261 overlap | |||
| Manning | 63.5 | 102.2 | West end of SC 261 overlap | ||||
| 64.0 | 103.0 | South end of US 301 overlap | |||||
| | 65.5 | 105.4 | North end of US 301 overlap | ||||
| | 67.0 | 107.8 | |||||
| Sumter | Sumter | 79.0 | 127.1 | ||||
| 80.5 | 129.6 | South end of US 15 overlap | |||||
| 82.3 | 132.4 | ||||||
| 82.6 | 132.9 | North end of US 15 and US 401 overlap | |||||
| 83.0 | 133.6 | East end of US 76 Bus. overlap, south end and terminus of US 401 overlap | |||||
| 85.0 | 136.8 | ||||||
| 86.0 | 138.4 | West end of US 76 Bus. overlap | |||||
| Dalzell | 93.5 | 150.5 | |||||
| Kershaw | | 107.0 | 172.2 | ||||
| Camden | 110.0 | 177.0 | |||||
| 111.0 | 178.6 | South end of US 601 overlap | |||||
| 113.0 | 181.9 | ||||||
| Lancaster | Kershaw | 133.0 | 214.0 | ||||
| 133.3 | 214.5 | North end of US 601 overlap | |||||
| Heath Springs | 139.0 | 223.7 | |||||
| Pleasant Hill | 142.0 | 228.5 | |||||
| Lancaster | 148.0 | 238.2 | |||||
| 149.0 | 239.8 | ||||||
| 150.0 | 241.4 | ||||||
| 152.0 | 244.6 | ||||||
| 152.5 | 245.4 | ||||||
| | 159.0 | 255.9 | |||||
| | 161.5 | 259.9 | South end of SC 75 overlap | ||||
| | 165.0 | 265.5 | North end of SC 75 overlap | ||||
| Indian Land | 172.0 | 276.8 | |||||
| 173.5 0.0 | 279.2 0.0 | South Carolina–North Carolina state line | |||||
| North Carolina | Mecklenburg | Charlotte | 1.0 | 1.6 | Lancaster Highway – Pineville | ||
| 3.8 | 6.1 | US 521 ends | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Bannered routes
See also
References
- ^ a b "US 521" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
- ^ "US 521 Route Change (2003-09-15)" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. September 15, 2003. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
- ^ "Mapmikey's South Carolina Highways Page: US 521". Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ^ "NCRoads.com: U.S. 521". Retrieved January 15, 2012.
External links
Media related to U.S. Route 521 at Wikimedia Commons
- End of US 521