Beaufort Traffic & Road Conditions

Major Highways in Beaufort County

Beaufort County sits at the convergence of I-26, I-20, I-77, US-1 / Two Notch Road, and US-76/378 / Garners Ferry Road. Together these routes carry essentially every commercial truck, commuter car, and out-of-state visitor that touches Beaufort in a given day — which is why a single closure or rolling backup on any one of them ripples across the rest within minutes.

• I-26
  East-west spine; connects Columbia to Newberry/I-77 interchange (NW) and I-95/Orangeburg/Charleston (SE); primary freight and passenger corridor for the Midlands.
• I-20
  Primary east-west corridor connecting Beaufort to Savannah/I-95 (W) and Charleston (E) via US-17; primary commuter and industrial route for the Lowcountry coastal corridor.
• I-77
  North-south corridor; connects Columbia to Charlotte NC (N) and I-26 interchange (S); Scout Motors Drive interchange under construction 2025; primary Charlotte commuter and logistics route.
• US-1 / Two Notch Road
  Northeast corridor from downtown to Fort Jackson, I-20, and northeast Richland County; heavy commercial strip; primary access to Fort Jackson main gate area.
• US-76/378 / Garners Ferry Road
  Southeast corridor connecting downtown Columbia to Dorn VA Medical Center, Shaw Air Force Base direction, and rural Sumter County; significant medical and military traffic.

Commute Patterns & Regional Drives

Beaufort commuters operate on a regional grid, not a city grid. Here is how long the most-driven trips actually take from Beaufort:

The volume comes with a cost. Beaufort County recorded 62 traffic fatalities in 2024 — roughly 14.6 per 100,000 residents, per the SC Department of Public Safety fact book.

Freight, Inland Port & Airport Traffic

Add Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) to the picture. It is the region's primary commercial airport, and the drive in from Beaufort is a short hop.

Transit fills a smaller share of the picture. Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority (COMET) runs the city's fixed-route bus and microtransit service; basic fare is 1.5.

All figures sourced from state DOT traffic counts, the state Department of Public Safety fact book, the regional ports authority, and the local airport district — refreshed as new annual reports drop. Live conditions, accidents, and lane closures are above; this section explains the system those incidents move through.