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Infrastructure Transportation & Utility Information
Union County is ideally located near the midway point between New York City and New Orleans. The County is also midway between the Charlotte, North Carolina and Greenville-Spartanburg metropolitan areas along Interstate 85. In addition, the County is ideally situated within a 3 hour drive to the Port of Charleston and within a one- hour drive to three commercial airports - Greenville-Spartanburg International (45 minutes); Charlotte Douglas International (1 hour); and Columbia Metropolitan (1 hour) Union County also has access to rail, low-cost electric power, natural gas, abundant water resources, excess capacities of wastewater treatment, and fiber optic telecommunications lines.
A good highway system is an important factor in the location of any industry or business. Union County's highway infrastructure includes access within 30 minutes drive time of I-26 and I-85. The County is within 1.5 hours drive of I-40, I-20 and I-77. The County is within a two hour drive of Interstate 95. The major routes connecting Union County to these interstate highway systems are U.S. Highway 176 which is a four-lane divided highway which travels east-west connecting the County to Interstate 85 in Spartanburg. South Carolina Highway 49 is a north-south trade route which connects the County to Charlotte, North Carolina 1 hour north, and Interstate 26 and Interstate 385 to the south near Clinton, South Carolina. Union County's access to Interstate 26 makes it an ideal choice for business and industry wishing to utilize the services of the Port of Charleston.
The Port of Charleston
The Port of Charleston is the busiest container port along the Southeast and Gulf coasts and ranks fourth nationwide. On the entire East and Gulf coasts, only the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey handles more containers than Charleston. The Charleston Customs district ranks as the nation's sixth largest in dollar value of international shipments, with cargo valued at $33 billion annually. Charleston is one of only a handful of ports to have received the Presidential "E" and "E-Star" awards for excellence in exporting. Although shippers in two dozen states use Charleston to access foreign customers and suppliers, 45% of SPA tonnage and about a third of containers are related to South Carolina firms. North Europe and Asia are the SPA's top markets, combining for 67% of total volume, but more than 150 countries in all are served directly from SPA docks. The Ports Authority has three major projects underway to serve its customers and the state's business community. The $150-million Charleston harbor deepening project began in 1999 and will deepen channels to 45 feet at low tide by 2004. The SPA's near-term capital expansion program calls for $300 million to improve productivity and utilization. Long-term needs require the development of new capacity, and the Ports Authority is preparing to permit a new marine terminal on the Cooper River side of Daniel Island. The SPA owns undeveloped property on the island between the Cooper and Wando Rivers just eight miles from the ocean. International trade through the Ports Authority's facilities provides 83,085 jobs throughout the state. In all, trade pumps $10.7 billion in sales, $2.6 billion in wages and $314 million in taxes into the state economy every year. One in 28 jobs in the state is related to trade through the SPA's terminals and the average port-related job pays 25% higher than the state average. In addition to the 700 South Carolina companies representing every county in the state that regularly ship through the SPA's facilities, there are hundreds of transportation companies that facilitate trade. These businesses include the SPA and its 610 employees; 40 steamship lines; 8 stevedores and hundreds of longshoremen; 131 truck lines; two Class I railroads; two tug companies; 51 customs house brokers and freight forwarders; and hundreds of other firms. Union County is centrally located between three commercial airports that combined offer more than 600 daily flights to every domestic and several international destinations.
The Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) is located in Upstate South Carolina only 45 minutes from Union County. The airport is located midway between the cities of Greenville and Spartanburg on I-85 (Exit 57). GSP has grown into one of the finest airports in the country, steadily meeting the Upstate's ever-increasing needs. The airport handles over 1.5 million passengers annually and is served by fifteen airlines. They offer over eighty daily departures to 18 non-stop destinations.
Expansion in recent years to the terminal and airfield have exceeded $100 million. The terminal contains over 226,000 square feet of usable space, has second level jet bridge boarding and thirteen departure gates. Two Federal Inspection Stations (FIS) consisting of Customs, Immigrations and Agriculture are located at GSP. The first FIS facility is located under the south concourse. The facility is 8,800 square feet of usable space and is designed to handle 250 international passengers per hour. A second FIS is located on the north cargo ramp. This facility is designed to handle cargo and corporate aircraft that require international clearance. In 1995, the runway was extended to 9,000 feet and another 2,001 foot extension was completed in June, 1999. At 11,001 feet long, GSP has the 19th longest runway in the nation.
Charlotte-Douglas International
Airport (CLT)
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is approximately 1 hour north of Union County along Highway 49. Charlotte-Douglas offers more than 500 daily flights to nearly every major city in the U.S. and is serviced by every major U.S. airline. The airport serves as a hub facility for USAir and also offers several direct international flights to London, Frankfurt, Toronto, and the Caribbean.
Charlotte-Douglas was the 21st busiest airport in the U.S. last year, serving more than 23 million passengers. The airport is also a major cargo center, handling more than 195,000 tons of goods.
Columbia Metropolitan, located 75 miles northwest of the County via U.S. 301 and Interstate 26, offers more than 75 daily flights to several major cities and hub airports including Charlotte, Atlanta, Washington, D.C,. Cincinnati, Dallas, Newark, Houston, New York (LaGuardia), Chicago, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.
Air passenger and cargo service is
provided by scheduled airlines, jet freight carriers, two fixed base
operators, and various charter flights. Air operations are conducted on
an 8600' x 150' runway and an 8000' x 150' runway. Annually, the airport serves more than 1.2 million passengers and processes more than 168,000 tons of air cargo. The airport serves as a hub facility for United Parcel Service (UPS) and is the home for a 107-acre Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). Rail
Union County receives rail service from Norfolk-Southern Railway. Norfolk Southern links customers to worldwide markets. The railway operates approximately 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, serves 20 seaports and lake ports and connects with western and Canadian partners. Norfolk Southern offers the East's most extensive intermodal network and provides comprehensive transportation logistics services supported by innovative data systems and technology. Water &
Wastewater Service Most of the industrial sites and all three industrial parks in Union County receive water and wastewater service from the City of Union Utilities Department. All of the industrial parks and most industrial sites have access to excess capacities of water (more than 1 million gallons per day) and wastewater treatment capacity (more than 3 million gallons per day). The City of Union will work with prospective business and industry in order to provide the needed service for your project at competitive rates. Just one of the many advantages to locating in Union County is the electrical service. There are no fewer than four electric providers who can meet your needs. The competition between the four providers can help guarantee you some of the lowest industrial power rates in the Southeast. The City of Union, Lockhart Power, Broad River Electric Cooperative, and Duke Power provide electricity to most every site and all three industrial parks in Union County. Natural
Gas Natural gas service is provided to residential and industrial users by the City of Union Utilities Department. The City of Union will work with prospective industrial clients to ensure the proper lines and rates for either firm or interruptible gas are met.
Telecommunications BellSouth is the major residential and commercial provider of communications services in Union County. Nearly every industrial site, and all three industrial parks, have access to fiber optic communications lines and equipment. BellSouth can work with you company to provide the needed equipment and service your project requires |
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Union County
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In
2001, the Port of Charleston, owned and operated by the South Carolina
State Ports Authority (SPA) handled 1.5 million 20-ft equivalent units,
or TEUs. Breakbulk cargo increased 19% to 520,391 tons. In addition, the
port owned grain elevator handled 68,400 tons of bulk shipments. Top
commodities across Charleston docks include foodstuffs, forest products,
consumer goods, machinery, metals, vehicles, chemicals and clay
products. 
Greenville-Spartanburg
International Airport (GSP)
| Copyright 2006 - Union County South Carolina Economic
Development -
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