WHAT’S GOING ON: Toll Road Rates to Rise for Upstate Travelers

Nicknamed by comedy dinner theater Café and then Some as “the road that connects the old K-Mart to the Mauldin K-Mart,” the Southern Connector will increase its rates effective next week.

Drivers of the 16 mile toll road in Southern Greenville County that connects the I-385/US Highway 276 interchange to I-85 near the Greenville/Anderson county lines will see rates rise at 12:01 a.m. on January 2, 2012.

The road’s casual 2-axle automobile users will see a rate increase of $0.25 per toll plaza, for a total increase of $0.50 (going from $2.50 to $3.00 to drive the toll road from start to finish).

Regular users, those who use the road’s Palmetto Pass, will see a rate increase of $0.35 per toll plaza, for a total increase of $0.70 (going from $2.00 to $2.70 to drive the toll road from start to finish).

The move is a planned part of the Southern Connector Association’s efforts to bring the road out of bankruptcy and was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in April 2011. Another rate increase is planned for January 2016.