Since the Revolutionary War, South Carolina has been concerned with expanding the transport of goods between the upcountry and the port of Charleston and the midwestern US. Several canals were constructed north of the fall line, and the 136-mi (219-km) railroad completed from Charleston to Hamburg (across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia) in 1833 was the longest in the world at that time. Three years earlier, the Best Friend of Charleston had become the first American steam locomotive built for public railway passenger service; by the time the Charleston–Hamburg railway was completed, however, the Best Friend had blown up, and a new engine, the Phoenix, had replaced it. Many other efforts were made to connect Charleston to the interior by railway, but tunnels through the mountains were never completed. Today, most freight service is furnished by Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation. In 2000, there were 2,507 rail mi (4,034 km) of track, utilized by 2 Class I, 10 local, and 2 switching and terminal railroads. About 19% (2,907,544 tons) of the rail tonnage in 2000 originating within the state was lumber and wood products, and also that year, coal represented 42% (13,951,600 tons) of the rail tonnage terminated in South Carolina. Amtrak passenger trains pass north–south through the state, providing limited service to Charleston, Columbia, and other cities.
The public road network in 2000 was made up of 54,300 mi (87,387 km) of rural roads and 10,621 mi (17,092 km) of urban roads. Highway I-26, running northwest–southeast from the upcountry to the Atlantic, intersects I-85 at Spartanburg, I-20 at Columbia, and I-95 on its way toward Charleston. There were 1,924,398 passenger vehicles, 1,154,113 trucks, and 16,218 buses registered in 2000 when the number of licensed drivers totaled 2,842,553. City bus service is most heavily used in the Charleston and Columbia systems.
The state has three deepwater seaports. Charleston is one of the major ports on the Atlantic, handling 19.9 million tons of cargo in 2000, and the harbors of Georgetown and Port Royal also handle significant waterborne trade. The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, crossing the state slightly inward form the Atlantic Ocean, is a major thoroughfare.
South Carolina had 149 airports in 2002. Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, and Greenville–Spartanburg are the major airports within the state; however, many travelers also enter South Carolina via the air terminals at Savannah, Augusta, and Atlanta, Georgia, and at Charlotte, North Carolina.