South Carolina Highway 3
South Carolina Highway 3 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by SCDOT
Length	96.310 mi [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] (154.996 km)
Major junctions
South end	US 278 near Varnville
Major intersections	US 601 near Estill US 321 in Estill US 301 near Allendale US 278 near Barnwell US 278 / SC 64 / SC 70 in Barnwell US 78 in Blackville SC 4 near Springfield US 178 near North
North end	US 321 in Swansea
Location
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
Counties	Jasper, Hampton, Allendale, Barnwell, Orangeburg, Lexington
Highway system
South Carolina State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← SC 2 → SC 4

South Carolina Highway 3 (SC 3) is a 96.310-mile (154.996 km) state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway travels in a C-shape from a point approximately 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Varnville northwest and north to Barnwell, and then northeast to Swansea.

Route description

SC 3 begins at an intersection with U.S. Route 278 (US 278) in rural Jasper County. The route heads northwest, and crosses into Hampton County. Continuing northwest, it intersects US 601 before a brief concurrency with US 321 in Estill. The highway continues northwest into Allendale County. After crossing into the county, SC 3 turns north and intersects US 301 approximately seven miles (11 km) southwest of Allendale. The route continues north until it enters Barnwell County. ^[7]

Just after the county line, SC 3 turns northeast and intersects US 278 just before the Salkehatchie River, approximately two miles (3.2 km) south of Barnwell. US 278/SC 3 form a concurrency into Barnwell. In town, SC 3 splits off to the northeast, intersecting SC 64 and SC 70. The highway heads northeast to Blackville, where it crosses US 78. It then heads northward, crossing the South Fork of the Edisto River, where it enters Orangeburg County. Just before the river, the route begins its last northeastern orientation, passing just east of Springfield, intersecting SC 3 Business and SC 4. SC 3 heads northeast, skirting the Aiken County line, before entering Lexington County. Approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of the county line, SC 3 meets its northern terminus, at its second intersection with US 321 in the southern part of Swansea. ^[7]

History

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A previous version of SC 3 existed as an original state route, running from Columbia to Sumter, Florence, and Mullins before crossing the North Carolina state line where US 76 does today. In 1927, the route was renumbered as various US highways.

The current version of SC 3 was established in 1928 as a renumbering of the closing SC 1. It originally ran from Allendale to Dixiana.

In 1938, the northern terminus was extended about 3 miles north to West Columbia. In 1939, however, it was pushed back south to Dixiana. In that same year, the southern terminus was extended southward a short distance to Barton. In 1948, the northern terminus was again pushed back, this time to Swansea. The southern terminus was also pushed north back to Allendale. Five years later, in 1953, the southern terminus was moved up north to Barnwell.

In the early 1960s, the northern terminus was extended up to Dixiana once again. In 1962, the highway was extended southward to US 321 in southwest Allendale County. In 1971, the northern terminus was once again moved back south to Swansea. In 1972, the southern terminus was moved southeast to Grays, giving us the current SC 3 routing. ^[8]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Jasper	Grays	0.000	0.000	US 278 (Grays Highway) – Ridgeland, Hilton Head	Southern terminus
Hampton	​	11.790	18.974	US 601 (Savannah Highway) – Furman, Hampton
	Estill	15.060	24.237	US 321 (Columbia Highway)	Southern end of US 321 concurrency
		15.320	24.655	US 321 (Columbia Highway) – Columbia	Northern end of US 321 concurrency
Allendale	​	36.240	58.323	US 301 (Burton's Ferry Highway) – Sylvania (GA), Allendale
	​	43.280	69.652	SC 125 (Augusta Highway) – Savannah (GA), Savannah River Plant, Allendale
Barnwell	​	54.150	87.146	US 278	Southern end of US 278 concurrency
	Barnwell	55.390	89.142	US 278 (Jackson Street) – Aiken, Augusta (GA)	Northern end of US 278 concurrency
		56.390	90.751	SC 64 (Patterson Street)
		57.050	91.813	SC 70 (Main Street) – Savannah River Site, Denmark
	Blackville	66.730	107.392	US 78 (Dexter Street) – Williston, Denmark
		66.840– 66.860	107.569– 107.601	US 78 Bus. (Main Street) – Denmark
Orangeburg	​	75.710	121.843	SC 3 Bus. (Railroad Avenue) – Springfield	Southern terminus of SC 3 Bus.
	​	76.760	123.533	SC 4 (Neeses Highway) – Springfield, Neeses
	​	77.810	125.223	SC 3 Bus. (Springfield Road)	Northern terminus of SC 3 Bus.
	​	83.920	135.056	SC 389 (Ninety 6 Road) – Saluda
	​	84.696	136.305	SC 394 (Salley Road) – North
Lexington	​	89.640	144.262	US 178 (Main Street) / North Road
	Swansea	96.310	154.996	US 321 (Savannah Highway) – Columbia	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi        Concurrency terminus

Springfield business route

South Carolina Highway 3 Business (SC 3 Bus.) begins at an intersection with the SC 3 mainline, south-southeast of Springfield. It heads northwest into the city, along Railroad Avenue, to an intersection with SC 4. The two highways share a very brief concurrency to the northeast in town. SC 3 Bus. continues northeast until it meets its northern terminus, another intersection with SC 3, northeast of Springfield.

The entire route is in Orangeburg County.

Location	mi [9]	km	Destinations	Notes
​	0.000	0.000	SC 3 (Capital Way) – Blackville, Swansea	Southern terminus
Springfield	1.460	2.350	SC 4 (Springfield Road) – Aiken	Southern end of SC 4 concurrency
	1.740	2.800	SC 4 (Neeses Highway) – Neeses	Northern end of SC 4 concurrency
​	2.870	4.619	SC 3 (Capital Way) – Blackville, Swansea	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi        Concurrency terminus

See also

•   United States portal
•   U.S. roads portal

References

External links

Media related to South Carolina Highway 3 at Wikimedia Commons

• SC 3 at Virginia Highways' South Carolina Highways Annex
• SC 3 Business at Virginia Highways' South Carolina Highways Annex