I-95 closed by floods from Hurricane Florence

Nine miles of I-95 just south of the South Carolina-North Carolina border are impassable because of flooding from Hurricane Florence, the S.C. Department of Transportation announced Sunday morning.

“There is not a passable detour at this time and motorist(s) should avoid this area,” the DOT tweeted.

“Motorists should avoid this area.”

I-95 is closed from exit 181 (S.C. 38) to Exit 190 (S.C. 34), the DOT said.

That area is about 10 miles south of the tourist stop, South of the Border, which straddles the South Carolina-North Carolina line.

The I-95 north-south corridor is one of the most heavily-traveled interstate highways on the East Coast and runs from Maine to Florida.

The portions of I-95 that are now underwater are on low-lying bridges that, in normal times, pass over rivers flowing to the sea and surrounding swampland.

The low-elevation swampy area from I-95’s Exit 181 to Exit 190 lies between two major river systems – the Pee Dee and the Little Pee Dee – that originate in North Carolina and flow south eastward to coastal South Carolina.

In 2015, after a historic rainfall, portions of I-95 in the same low-lying areas of South Carolina were closed for more than a week.