Introduction

Interstate 526 starts in Mount Pleasant north of the city connecting to US Route 17, circles north to North Charleston, then west and eventually ends at Route 17 again. Its primary purpose was to alleviate traffic around the Charleston metropolitan area. This Interstate highway heads north and west, circumventing the usually crowded route that culminates in a trip over the Cooper River Bridges into downtown Charleston. Especially for trucks, this allows alternate routes to Interstate 26 rather than connecting downtown. Most of Interstate 526 is completed as the map below demonstrates, however, there is one more section to complete. That section will continue Interstate 526 from its West Ashley ending to span Johns and and James Island and meeting up with the James Island Connector (SC Route 30).