Construction on South Carolina's portion of Interstate 85, the state's first interstate highway, began in September 1956 -- a bridge over the Broad River in Cherokee County. Construction of the 106-mile-long highway in the state was completed in September 1964.

The entire cost to initially build the road was $267 million. But construction has never really ended as new interchanges are added and sections of the highway are widened.

Now five major interstates -- I-20, I-26, I-77, I-85 and I-95 with spurs such as I-385 -- stitch together the various parts of South Carolina and connect the state to the rest of the country. Plans are in the works to build I-73 into South Carolina, adding to the state's total of 844 miles of interstate highways.

South Carolina is joining other states in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the interstate highway system throughout June.

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Fifty years ago those roads were dreams. Today they have made travel more convenient and sometimes more boring. They've spurred economic development in cities like Greenville and they've bypassed hamlets, leaving them to die on the vine.

"Our interstates are just as vital to our states and economy as our blood is to our life," said Joan Peters, owner of J. Peters and Associates, a Greenville engineering firm. But as the interstates age and the population grows, "we don't have an effective way to address the challenges we're going to be facing down the road. We can't continue widening interstates to accommodate growth."

And Peters said she isn't sure whether this country is facing up to that challenge.

The interstate system "was a bold initiative on the part of our government," said U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

But the interstate system, which is basically complete, is "having a midlife crisis, having fallen victim to special interest carve-outs," he said.

His suggestion: The federal government should continue maintaining the interstate system and should pay for roads on federally owned land. However, the states should take over the rest of the highway system. He has introduced a bill that returns much control to the states and reduces the federal gas tax from 18.3 cents a gallon to 3.7 cents. States would set the state tax, which could be a wash, and determine where money should be spent.

Controversy is nothing new to the interstate system.

Suburbs, suburban sprawl and the decline of cities are credited to interstates as are the growth of chain stores and restaurants, said Michael Sweeney, associate professor and head of Utah State University's Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. By encouraging driving, interstates also have helped push the increase in fossil-fuel consumption and made highway driving safer. They also directed motorists away from small towns and unique stores and restaurants.

Many critics decry the sameness of the long, straight stretches of road and the interchanges with interchangeable stores. Author John Steinbeck, who traveled across the country before writing "Travels with Charley," said, "When we get these thruways across the whole country, as we will and must, it will be possible to drive from New York to California without seeing a thing."

But safety is a major consideration, Peters said, because "you don't want a driver distracted."

What the interstate system has done is create the infrastructure that supports job creation, said Ben Haskew, president of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce.

"I think the interstate system brought access to markets. It improved time which improved costs," he said. "Another thing it did was it made our work force more mobile. Someone in Anderson County doesn't think anything of a 30-minute drive to Greenville County."

Peters agreed.

Interstates "connect us to our bordering states," she said. "Boundaries are rapidly disappearing."

And all of that can be important to industry.

"The location of the property next to an interstate was a key factor in locating the plant here," said Bunny Richardson, spokeswoman for BMW Manufacturing Co.

Interstate access puts BMW in convenient proximity to the dealerships to which it trucks its vehicles, she said.

Also, "we've got 48 suppliers in every part of South Carolina," and interstates make it possible for supplies to arrive in a timely manner, she said.

Another import access issue is the Port of Charleston, she said. While vehicles are shipped by rail to the port for export, "the parts shipped from abroad come from the port by truck."

"It's all part of the infrastructure. We need redundant systems," she said.

BMW has worked with state and local officials to get a new interchange at Brockman-McClimon Road because of the congestion at the State 101 interchange and the BMW entrance, she said.

Another economic development aspect of the entire system is that it "has opened up access to land, both for commercial and industrial ventures," Haskew said.

Prior to the construction of interstates, much of the land now developed or being developed was essentially land-locked. It had no good access to the infrastructure needed to move goods around.

An example of that is the relatively new section of I-85 in Spartanburg County. That area of the county was totally undeveloped prior to the interstate relocation, Haskew said.

"Now it has new business parks, new industrial parks," he said.

Locations on or near an interstate also are vital to many companies because of the visibility it provides, he said. Hubbell Lighting officials considered interstate visibility to be critical to their relocation, Haskew said. The same holds true for BMW Manufacturing Co., Michelin North America and other companies.

Visibility "has to be a factor when you're a high-profile company," Richardson said. "It's part of your image."

BMW's Zentrum, or museum, is highly visible from I-85 and "is our face," she said.

The location of Greenville and Spartanburg counties on I-85 midway between Atlanta and Charlotte has made the region a business center. In fact, I-85 is often known as the business belt of South Carolina. Other interstates also spur development, but the location of I-85 through a densely populated area that is also a business center has been good for those counties, Haskew said.

Development is less intense along I-95, which runs primarily through a rural portion of South Carolina, he said.

The Upstate's Union County is within 30 minutes to 2 1/2 hours of any interstate in the state. But none run through the county. Its major road is U.S. 176, a four-lane divided highway. The county, with a March unemployment rate of 11.4 percent, still remains heavily invested in the textile industry.

Stanley Vanderford, director of the county's economic development effort, said the lack of an interstate hurts recruitment and makes county officials work harder to attract business.

But it's not always a problem, he said.

"Logistically speaking, to a lot of companies, it doesn't matter if they have interstate access," he said.

That was the case with the Dollar General distribution center, which has 600 employees and 150 truck drivers, he said. Many of the company's stores are on small roads and in downtown areas.

But "some companies want the visibility. It's hard to get in the mix if they say they want an interstate. But you might run into that once or twice a year. Most say they need to be near a major highway."

Union County has that in U.S. 176, which opened as a four-lane divided highway in 1991, he said.

Still, "it's been hard for us to recruit a supplier for BMW, either we're too far or too close," Vanderford said.

Proximity is a problem if the labor force is drawn from the same location as BMW's and that of major suppliers. It's too far if they need interstates for just-in-time deliveries.

But the county has landed LSP, a company that will do body stamping for BMW. The facility is now under construction. When it begins production, it will have 130 employees, increasing that to more than 200 over three years.

The national system of limited-access highways that allow high-speed movement has done more than affect economic development.

"They have changed the way we vacation," said Sarah Davis, spokeswoman for AAA Carolinas.

Haskew agreed.

"More of us travel and more of us travel further," he said.

That holds true for his family. For the past few years, they have taken family driving vacations.

Before the interstate, driving vacations often meant leaving early to miss the hottest part of the day, Sweeney said. They also meant taking your lunch because motorists couldn't always count on finding a decent restaurant.

"Interstates helped Americans see more of their country, while managing their own travel schedules and routes," he said.