Plans to widen Interstate 85 in Anderson County to the Georgia line are on the drawing board, but some local state legislators say they should be speeded up in light of Georgia’s plans to expand the interstate on its side of the border.

State Sen. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, thinks improving the four-lane stretch between exit 19 at Clemson Boulevard and the South Carolina state line would be an economic boon for the county.

“It’s something we need to put in the hopper,” he said. “I think as this area continues to grow, traffic along I-85 is going to get worse and worse. It is one of the more dangerous stretches in the county. I think there needs to be a coalition of legislators from this part of the county behind the project.”

The project would not only spur more development, but also spawn infrastructure improvements on some of the frontage roads, he said.

State Rep. Michael D. Thompson, R-Anderson, agreed the project would be beneficial to the county and also eliminate traffic bottlenecks.

“It always encourages growth when we get roads in good shape,” he said. “The economy sort of follows along.”

South Carolina Department of Transportation officials acknowledge the interstate needs to be widened from four to six lanes, but a lack of cash is the biggest stumbling block to completing the project, according to transportation department spokesman Robert Pratt.

Mr. Pratt said escalating costs for asphalt and steel and reductions in federal funding have put the brakes on interstate construction projects across the state.

“We’ve got miles and miles of interstate in South Carolina. All of them could use some added capacity, but there is nothing on the books to add to them anywhere, period,” Mr. Pratt said.

Mr. Pratt said it could cost tens of millions of dollars to expand the 18-mile section of interstate in Anderson County. The only other section of I-85 still carrying four lanes of traffic is in Spartanburg County.

“That’s huge in terms of money,” Mr. Pratt said. “We will continue to examine our options, and if our funding outlook changes, we may want to pursue it at a later time.”

While widening the interstate is on the backburner in South Carolina, officials in Georgia are discussing plans to widen a 67-mile stretch of the interstate, from I-85 I-985 - this doesn’t even exist! - LMM in Gwinnett County to the South Carolina line.

Work to improve the section of interstate between exit 173 at Lavonia and exit 1 in South Carolina recently was discussed at a public meeting, but the start of construction is beyond the Georgia DOT’s three-year timetable, spokeswoman Teri Pope said.

The project would include replacing the two bridges spanning the northern end of Hartwell Lake with a single superstructure. Mr. Pratt said the transportation department was asked to help fund the bridge replacement, but said the state is not in a position to make a financial commitment.

Ms. Pope said a fourth northbound lane would begin about 500 feet before the bridge, cross it and end at the South Carolina Welcome Center.

An average of 47,600 vehicles a day travel the 6.3-mile stretch of interstate, she said.

“We will finalize plans and pull into construction as money becomes available,” Ms. Pope said.

Lawrence Campbell, senior project manager with the Anderson County Economic Development Board, said there’s no question improving the interstate on the South Carolina side would relieve traffic congestion, but he questioned whether it would open up the county to more development.

“I don’t think it’s going to be some type of calling card,” he said. “More important than widening the interstate is going to be sewer, and we’ve got sewer at exit 14.”

The biggest winners actually would be existing businesses, said Shae Rozakos, existing industries manager at the county’s Economic Development Board.

“It would benefit them by allowing for the swifter movement of goods through the region,” she said.