Counter-intuitive shield assembly posted for South Carolina 12 along U.S. 21-176-321 (Huger Street) northbound in Columbia. South Carolina 12 follows a one-way street couplet of Hampton Street (east) and Taylor Street (west) from Jarvis Klapman Boulevard to Park Street in downtown.

U.S. 21-176-321 turn southward onto Huger Street from Elmwood Avenue. While the only Business Spur I-126 sign disappeared a few years ago, the remainder of the junction with Interstate 126 remains virtually unchanged from 2004.

Interstate 126 west defaults onto Interstate 26 west ahead of the junction with Interstate 20 (Exit 107). The freeway mainline merges onto I-26 from the left. Motorists taking the I-20 ramp simply merge onto I-26 from the right ahead of the Exit 107 full-cloverleaf interchange. U.S. 76 is the only US Route in the Columbia area to follow a freeway. It joins Interstate 126 from Elmwood Avenue and continues on I-26 west to Exit 101A.

U.S. 378 follows Travis Avenue into Saluda and turns south on Jennings Street and west on Church Street to this intersection with U.S. 178, South Carolina 39, and South Carolina 121 (Main Street). Saluda is the home town of professional wrestling’s Paul "The Big Show" Wight.

U.S. 221 south joins U.S. 378 west for a brief overlap along East Gold Street in McCormick, South Carolina. Pictured here is the split where U.S. 221 south joins South Carolina 28 on Mine Street.

Crossing the Savannah River along U.S. 378 into Lincoln County, Georgia. A $14.2-million bridge replacement project is underway that will replace the 1938-opened bridge with a new structure to the south. When completed, U.S. 378 will travel a new 1,680 foot bridge with 12′ travel lanes, 10′ shoulders. New approaches are to be constructed as well.

U.S. 378 ends at junction U.S. 78 & Georgia 10-17 outside of Washington in Wilkes County. The end point lies directly across from the U.S. 78 business loop through the county seat. A connector road provides access to U.S. 78 east to Thomson ahead of the actual signalized end. See Dale Sanderson’s End of US Highway 378 page for additional photos of the terminus.

The Washington Bypass continues north with Georgia 17; U.S. 78 & Georgia 10 turn west on a two-lane alignment north of the business loop of Lexington Avenue.

While the Athens Perimeter Highway (Georgia 10 Loop) carries U.S. 29, U.S. 78, U.S. 129, U.S. 441 and a myriad of state route counterparts along its alignment, all multiplexes are ignored on reassurance shields and instead a simple Georgia 10 Loop Inner or Outer shield assembly is posted instead. There are however, small guide signs that follow some of the on-ramps directing motorists to the departure points of the U.S. highways and Georgia 316′s westbound beginning.

Georgia 316 constitutes a 39.08 mile expressway type route between the Athens Perimeter Highway (Georgia 10 Loop) and Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County. The route undulates from signalized intersections through seemingly rural swaths with a 65 mph speed limit. The number of signalized intersections prevents a consistent pace between Athens and metro Atlanta and only the westernmost five miles of the route comprises a freeway. Talks have centered around upgrading Georgia 316 for years and recently those have focused on upgrading the highway to limited access standards by implementing tolls. It was reported in 2004 that tolls on such a route may be a high as $4.17-per trip, and in today’s standards that may even be a low estimate. Tolls remain one of the controversial aspects of the project, and there is even a Facebook page dedicated to the upgrade of Georgia 316 without the use of tolls.

Collins Hill Road intersects Georgia 316 west at the final signalized intersection along University Parkway. From this point westward, Georgia 316 upgrades to nearly freeway standards with the exception of turn-offs for University Center Lane and Walter Boulevard.

What was a simple partial "Y" interchange between Georgia 316 and Interstate 85 at Exit 103 was upgraded as part of a $147-mllion project and completed in October 20, 2007. Added were flyover ramps connecting Georgia 316 west with Interstate 85 south on the right-hand side and adjacent Pleasant Hill Road. The upgrade also provides direct HOV-lane connections between the two freeways.

Approaching former Georgia 280 along Interstate 285 south (inner) at Atlanta. Georgia 260 was truncated from its terminus at U.S. 278 & Georgia 12 (Covington Highway) east of Interstate 285 to Exit 61B of Interstate 20.

Speed limits along Interstate 20 in eastern Alabama were lowered on March 19, 2010 from 70 to 55 mph following the death of woman killed by a stone kicked up from a vehicle traveling over a pothole. The speed restriction is in place through Calhoun and Cleburne Counties between Oxford and the Georgia state line. A widening project between mileposts 182 and 186 is planned and upon completion, speed limits are expected to return to 70 mph.
For what its worth, every vehicle we encountered was traveling between 65-70 mph or greater on the 32-mile stretch.

Golden Springs Road leads north from Exit 188 of Interstate 20 to the Anniston East Bypass. The four to five lane highway first meets U.S. 78 at a one-quarter cloverleaf interchange and then transitions into an arterial without controlled access. This section of roadway opened in October 2004 between I-20 and Choccoiocco Road. Further north, construction of a new 8-mile roadway (Alabama 192) is now underway as a $29.4-million stimulus project started on October 13, 2009. Alabama 192 will link U.S. 431 at Saks to the existing Anniston East Bypass near Coleman Road. Work should be completed in 2012 or 2013.

A major widening project (from four to six lanes) is underway along Interstate 20 between Exits 158 and 147 in St. Clair County, Alabama. Work on this section of roadway is slated for completion by October 1, 2012.

Some original button copy overheads remain in service along Interstates 20 and 459 in east Birmingham and Irondale.

Construction along Interstate 65 in Shelby County extends the six-lane stretch of freeway south from Exit 247 (Shelby County 17) to Shelby County 52 (Exit 242). Future work will extend the six to eight lane freeway southward to the Shelby County Airport interchange (Exit 234).

Last, but not least, construction to modernize and improve Interstate 65 through Montgomery is still underway. The 4.61-mile project rebuilds the freeway between the Alabama River and U.S. 80 expressway leading west toward Montgomery Regional Airport. Original concrete was replaced south of Interstate 65 and is currently being overlaid with asphalt to the north. Guide sign structures are also being replaced, and new assemblies, such as this one for Interstate 85 north (Exit 171) are eliminating all ground level assemblies. Work should be done next month.

Sources:

• "I-85 & Hwy 316 Interchange Opens." 11Alive.com, October 20, 2007.
• “I-20 speed limit between Oxford, Georgia to be lowered following death.” Mobile Press-Register, March 18, 2010.
• “Final Segment of Anniston Eastern Bypass Under Way.” ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com, December 16, 2009.
• “ALDOT announces lane closures associated with I-20 widening.” The Daily Home, October 23, 2009.
• “ALDOT soon to widen I-65 to Promenade exit.” Shelby County Reporter, August 26, 2010.

Traveling the Ross Clark Circle around Dothan, pictured here is the approach of the U.S. 84 west and U.S. 431 northbound split. The city of Dothan has sought a freeway for years, but none remains planned. The circle is typical of an older bypass around an Alabaman city. Access is not controlled and commercial development and signalized intersections are too numerous.

Looking south at progress on the Glenwood bypass of U.S. 431 in southern Russell County, Alabama. The new four-lane alignment should be completed later this fall, bring U.S. 431 to four overall lanes between Phenix City and Dothan, Alabama.

A 2008-09 project added a new folded diamond interchange to the U.S. 80 freeway between Phenix City, Alabama and Columbus, Georgia with Riverchase Drive. This exit opens up land along the Chattahoochee River for development and provides an additional north-south corridor into Phenix City via 5th Avenue.

Interstate 185 is designated a Scenic Byway by GDOT from Exit 12 northward to the northern terminus at Interstate 85. Trailblazers for the scenic route line the freeway after each on-ramp.

Widening of Interstate 85 currently extends the six lane portion of freeway southward all the way to Exit 35 from to the previous expanding point of near Exit 51 (Georgia 154). The $374-million project started in Fall 2006 and was completed by August 2010.

Ramp meters began to appear on Atlanta area freeways in 1996 and again in 2005. Wholesale installation and usage of them did not begin in earnest until 2008. They now stretch as far south as Interstate 85 Exit 61, with plans to extend their usage southward to Peachtree City. Ramp meters are in use along Interstate 285, Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County, Interstate 75, Interstate 575, Interstate 20, Georgia 400, and U.S. 78 in Dekalb County. GDOT provides a list and schedule of their usage here.

GDOT, like WSDOT, posts exit numbers within an overall guide sign, separating the Exit XX portion with a horizontal bar from the control points or destinations. A Georgia oddity is attached to the refurbished Georgia 280 overpass above Interstate 285 north (inner loop). Posted here is the one-mile sign for South Atlanta Road with a separate exit tab. This replaced a traditional GDOT sign and may very well be the only external exit tab in the state. The half-mile guide sign for Exit 16 that followed is missing as of September 28, 2010.

Some dynamic message signs posted in the Atlanta metropolitan area are now posting travel times. This particular assembly resides along Interstate 575 north ahead of Exit 3 (Chastain Road).

Sources:

• "GDOT gives July 31 completion for I-85 in Coweta." TheCitizen.com, June 18, 2010.
• Ramp Meter Installation Program, GDOT

Somewhere in all that kudzu, there is an old US-11 bridge.

This sign very likely dates back to the early Tennessee Valley Authority days.

The state line, on old US-45.

One of the back roads of Corinth, MS.

We’re in Alabama now, and this is an abandoned US-72 alignment.

Local plant life.

Apparently, this is a problem.

Good luck finding a state-named interstate shield in Tennessee. I don’t know of any.

That about covers all the types of interstate shields you will find.

Alas, there will be no drinking and driving today.

Nope, not a state-named shield to be found. The last time I saw one was in January, 2004!

This is supposed to be Tennessee secondary route 255, but it definitely isn’t signed that way.

Bridge to nowhere.

Some secondary state route markers.

Interstate 24 barely makes it to Georgia – bouncing out once and then ending at I-59. Here is a shield with an extra-small state name.

Some overuse of the JCT banner.

We’re all mature folks around here and we see nothing unusual about the name of this supermarket.

Apparently, these truck route markers all over Birmingham are some of the oldest shields in Alabama. There are many more, and Jeff Royston has much better photos of them.

One with, one without.

Button copy is getting hard to find in Alabama. This gantry may very well be gone by now.

I do not know why they taped over the state name on this shield.

Alabama is filled with goats.

An old US-11 alignment somewhere in western Alabama.

Here is where the old alignment comes in. This shield is dated 1971 on the back.

The corresponding green sign is probably equally as old.

We’re back in Mississippi – home of the circle shields.

Another view of the bridge to Kudzuland.

These two state-named shields somehow survived Hurricane Katrina. And with that, we’re back at the airport and that’s it for this trip!

In Georgia however, Business Routes for both Interstates 75 and 95 represented neither former nor temporary paths of their parent freeways or their ends. Interstates 16, 20 and 85 were ignored, while Interstate 95 gained routes in Brunswick and Darien, and Interstate 75 gained routes in Valdosta, Tifton, Cordele (?), and perhaps another city or two (if you know, let us know!).

So are the routes still alive? Today, the majority of the routes remaining are hard to follow. The Brunswick business spur is gone, and only one stand alone shield remains for Business Loop Interstate 95 at Darien to go with signs on the freeway mainline still touting the route. Along Interstate 75, business loop shields are posted for the Tifton route and for the north end of the Valdosta route, but nothing remains in Cordele or anywhere else. Once away from the freeway, the remaining routes are almost nonexistent.

While we cannot fully attest to how well the Tifton route is signed, we have explored the Valdosta one several occasions:

Business Loop Interstate 75 shields were already removed from Exit 16 guide signs, yet this lone shield assembly was posted in 2005 along the then five-way overlap east. Photo taken 05/28/05.

Georgia 94 was removed from the overlap including both the Interstate 75 guide signs and the U.S. 84 & 221 shield assemblies by 2008. Business Loop Interstate 75 gained a fresh shield in the process. Photo taken 09/28/08.
However as U.S. 84 east & 221 north continue into downtown, all Business Loop Interstate 75 shields disappear.

Meanwhile U.S. 84 & 221 westbound see a southbound Business Loop Interstate 75 assembly along Central Avenue (one-way street couplet with Hill Avenue), midway between Ashley and Patterson Streets, the one-way street couplet of U.S. 41 Business and Georgia 7 Business. The shield assembly pictured here should be posted a block further west, as the loop is intended to follow U.S. 41B & Georgia 7B south from Patterson Street to Central Avenue west. Photo taken 09/28/08.

A second Business Loop Interstate 75 shield is found with this U.S. 84 west & 221 south assembly along Central Avenue west of Oak Street. This is the final sign posted along the route. Photo taken 09/28/08.

So what about U.S. 41 Business & Georgia 7 Business? Well that pair is supposed to carry the business loop north from downtown back to Interstate 75…
Pictured here is the assembly along U.S. 41B & Georgia 7B (Ashley Street) northbound on the approach to U.S. 84 west & 221 south (Central Avenue). Surprisingly there are no shields for northbound BL I-75 posted after this point! Photo taken 09/28/08.

As for U.S. 41 Business & Georgia 7 Business southbound, no Business Loop Interstate 75 shields are posted from their split with U.S. 41 & Georgia 7 southward into downtown Valdosta, nor are any found along U.S. 41 & Georgia 7 leading from Interstate 75 to Ashley Street. U.S. 41B & Georgia 7B follow Ashley Street south to their one-way split at Magnolia Street, with Magnolia carrying the pair west one block to Patterson Street (Georgia 7 Alternate) in this scene. Photo taken 09/18/06.

Patterson Street flows southbound only from Magnolia Street. On the left side of the street are U.S. 41 Business & Georgia 7 Business shields; the right side includes a Business Loop Interstate 75 shield. The business route turns west onto U.S. 84 & 221 in three blocks. Photo taken 09/18/06.

Supposedly Tybee Island officials view San Diego as more of an exotic destination than say Dallas or Mesquite, even though U.S. 80 hasn’t traveled to S.D. in decades!

Interstate 95 is rather docile in Volusia County south of Interstate 4, but north of it is a different story. The influx of traffic from Orlando and its array of resort areas puts a crush of traffic on the freeway between Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. Surprisingly not all of this corridor is yet to six-lane capacity. St. Johns and Volusia Counties are already six-lanes, but Flagler County is not. Therefore crews are out working on the expansion of Interstate 95 to eliminate the bottleneck between Interstate 4 and Interstate 295. From the FDOT website, expansion of the 18.6-mile stretch in Flagler County began on March 14, 2005. Completion date is unclear.

In a related project pertaining to the Interstate 95 corridor, upgrading of the Florida 9A (Future Interstate 295) diamond interchange with Florida 202 (J. Turner Butler Boulevard – JTB) is also underway. Florida 9A provides an eastern bypass of downtown Jacksonville as well as a commuter route for southeast Jacksonville. The substandard interchange between the two freeways is the only thing preventing the eastern beltway from becoming part of the Interstate 295 corridor. Upon completion of the $80.5-million project, high-speed flyovers will shuttle motorists between Interstate 295 and the JTB. Work began in July 2005 with a 2009 completion date anticipated.

Further northwest near downtown Jacksonville is the project involving redesign of the Interstate 10 and 95 interchange (Exit 351B). At present the junction between the two pivotal Interstate highways is quite substandard with left-hand ramps and tight curves. Replacement of the junction involves creation of high-speed flyovers with the capacity necessary for the downtown area junction. Work commenced on February 15, 2005, with an overall completion of the interchange and associated adjacent projects slated for 2011. See TheBigI.info for project details (note that “Big I” was the same moniker given to the massive overhaul of the Interstate 25 and 40 junction in Albuquerque, New Mexico).

Also of interest to that interchange is the fact that U.S. 17 and Florida 223 now both share alignments with both Interstate 10 east from the Roosevelt Expressway interchange to Interstate 95 and Interstate 95 north to the U.S. 23 (Kings Road/Union Street) interchange to the north. Signs merely mention the overlap in passing, but shields are no longer posted along the U.S. 17 & Florida 223 surface routing as of December 2006.

It is not just the Interstate 95 interchange with Interstate 10 under construction, but essentially the entire corridor of freeway between Interstate 10 and the northern terminus of Interstate 295. That section of roadway includes a narrow four-lane segment of freeway between the Trout River Bridge and Interstate 295/Florida 9A. Widening of that freeway is underway in conjunction with a replacement of the Trout River Bridge. Work on the Trout River Bridge replacement began on March 7, 2005 and very recently resulted in a shift of traffic onto the new future southbound bridge from the original northbound bridge. Completion of the widening and new bridge should be completed by spring 2008. See TroutRiverBridge.com for additional info.

The adjacent project involves expansion of the original four-lane freeway from Zoo Parkway north to Interstate 295/Florida 9A. Work began in October of 2007 and early results see a new concrete roadway partially in place. Completion of that expansion project should occur by summer 2008. NorthFloridaRoads.com has a wide array of information pertaining to this project and many others throughout the Jacksonville metropolitan area.

Perhaps its not really related to Interstate 95 expansion, but one road facet of Interstate 95 is the essentially defunct Business Loop Interstate 95 at Darien. The overall expansion of the Interstate 95 corridor in recent decades sees a wide array of services within easy reach of the entire corridor (except for say between Orono and Houlton, Maine!). The need for Business Loops from the freeway essentially is nonexistent nowadays. Therefore the two remaining loops, one at Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the other at Darien, Georgia, have become less important by definition of Business Loop. The Fayetteville loop remains an important through route into Fayetteville from the north and south. The Georgia loop at Darien is basically unsigned outside of two guide signs per direction. One lone shield still in place however lies at the U.S. 17 intersection with Georgia 99, about a mile east of the south end of the Business Loop.

Georgia began expansion on their section of Interstate 95 in the 1990s and is vastly complete throughout the state. Most recent widening involves McIntosh and Liberty Counties midway between Brunswick and Savannah. In particular, a six laning of Interstate 95 will extend the widened portion of highway south of the U.S. 84 eastern terminus. Pictured here during road work at Exit 67, the project began in April of 2005 and should overall be completed by 2009. Four bridges along the corridor require replacing with wider spans; hence the lengthy construction process. From U.S. 84 northward, Interstate 95 is already six lanes to the South Carolina state line.

Once in South Carolina, Interstate 95 reduces to four lanes for all but a short ten-mile section between Interstate 20 and U.S. 52 at Florence. That six-laning was a recent addition, completed in April 2004, to the overall four-lane roadway. Interstate 95 in South Carolina generally serves through travel interests between Florida and the northeast. Anyone driving along the route, especially south of Interstate 26, will notice that three out of four cars are generally Florida-plated cars or cars emanating from the northeastern states. Because of this, South Carolina wants to institute tolls on its 199-mile section of Interstate 95. Why pay for a road yourselves when it benefits those from another state? At least that is the logic behind the latest push to toll the roadway in order to fund its modernization and expansion. Looking northward here is the Exit 8 off-ramp to U.S. 278 midway between Jasper and Ridgeland. I’ve found the parallel U.S. 17 and further north old-U.S. 17 to be a benefit when it comes to avoiding growing traffic congestion through this stretch.

Much further north, Interstate 95, as mentioned on the Interstate-Guide site, has been under construction for several years now involving the upgrading of the Springfield Interchange with Interstates 395 and 495 and the nearby Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement project. The Capital Beltway, a commuter and through route of both Interstates 95 and 495 around Washington, D.C., has undergone such development and increases in traffic in recent decades that the road has declined into an utter state of failure on some sections. To augment some of these issues, VDOT began upgrading the rather substandard interchange between Interstate 95, 395 (Shirley Highway), and 495 (Capital Beltway) at Springfield in 2002. Work on that interchange is vastly completed, with high-speed flyovers now facilitating the movements between the north-south and east-west freeways. Overall completion of that project is expected by late-2007. SpringfieldInterchange.com provides more detail on this project.

Further east, road work continues in earnest involving the modernization of Interstates 95 & 495 between the Springfield Interchange and the Potomac River. Two aspects of the project involve the reconstruction and redesign of interchanges with both Telegraph Road (Virginia 241) and U.S. 1. Pictured here is gridlock along Interstate 95 south & 495 west near the Virginia 241 (Exit 168) interchange. Work began on this junction in mid-2004 and should be complete by late 2011. The lengthy time table involves overall road work involving not only the Capital Beltway but also the adjacent Virginia 241. East of there at junction U.S. 1, a similar project is underway with completion expected by mid-2009. Improvements here will aid to the overall expansion and improvement of the Capital Beltway in between. See WilsonBridge.com for more information.

Last but not least on our menu is the Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement project itself. Begun in mid-2001, work involves the wholesale replacement of the original draw bridges over the Potomac River on which Interstates 95 and 495 travel. As of late 2006, the future eastbound (outer) bridge was open to travel and carries six-overall lanes of Capital Beltway drivers. Work continues on both removal of the original spans and building of the new westbound (inner) bridge. Upon completion, the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge will remain a draw bridge, but with improved capacity to the order of ten lanes with the allocation of two additional HOV or transit lanes for the future.

Adjacent to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Interstate 95 in Maryland also is undergoing expansion and modernization. The Interstate 295 & Maryland 210 interchanges remains under construction for redesign and should be completed by mid-2008. The new ramp configurations accommodate widening of the Capital Beltway approaches to the Potomac River crossing.

Additional Sources:

I won’t bore you with the detailed routing and rather will focus on some of the roadworthy highlights along the drive.

Lake City lies near the cross roads of Interstate 10 and 75 in north Florida. The town is the control point of Interstate 10 west from Jacksonville and east from Tallahassee. You may not think much of it by its presence on the map, but its surprisingly sprawly, especially along U.S. 90 east of Interstate 75 and U.S. 41/441 heading south of town. Downtown meanwhile retains some charm, echoing Lake City’s history as a smaller town no doubt. Pictured here is U.S. 441 (Marion Street) north at U.S. 90 (Duval Street).

I’ve always been intrigued by long state roads in hard to reach areas (North Carolina 12 to Corolla comes to mind), and one such that fits the build is Georgia 177 in south Georgia. Georgia 177 constitutes a fairly long spur from U.S. 84 near Fargo to Stephen C. Foster State Park within Okefenokee Swamp. While we did not have the chance to drive all the way up it, we did check out the beginning.

A convoluted drive along counties lines later, we arrive at the town of Alma, the seat of Bacon County. When I used to watch The Weather Channel in the 1980s from Savannah, Alma was one of the regional observation points on the Local Forecast. I only mention this because Alma almost always had “NO REPORT”. Not that that has anything to do with roads, but it’s just an observation I remember from childhood. Anyway, here we look at downtown and a set of old 30″ Eagle signals at 12th Street at Georgia 4 Alternate (Dixon Street). Georgia 32, the main east-west drag through town, veers two blocks south from 12th Street on a bypass alignment of the central business district.

Georgia 32 carried us east from Alma to Georgia 15 & 121 at Bristol.What is displayed above is Georgia 15 & 121 northbound at the Big Saltilla Creek Overflow channel (Appling/Pierce County line) during a relocation project to build a new roadway and a new series of bridges. Georgia 121 is part of a multi-state-route (MSR) traveling between U.S. 19 & 98 near Inglis, Florida and U.S. 21 Business at Rock Hill, South Carolina. Additionally in Georgia, Georgia 121 obtains the designation of the Woodpecker Trail, complete with graphical trailblazers along the road.

A pit stop in central Jessup during what otherwise is peak hours at the junction of U.S. 341 and U.S. 84. U.S. 84 and 341 cross paths in the heart of town while U.S. 25 & 301 follow a bypass routing to the east. U.S. 25 & 341 join forces on their southward drive to their respective ends in Brunswick, while U.S. 301 continues south to the Brantley County seat of Nahunta (junction U.S. 82)…

Heading out of Jessup, U.S. 84 combines with U.S. 25 & 301 for the northeastern journey to Ludowici and Long County. Ludowici, a historical speed trap, represents the split of U.S. 84 east from U.S. 25 & 301 north. U.S. 25 and 301 remain paired all the way to Statesboro while U.S. 84 continues east to Hinesville, Fort Stewart, and its Liberty County end at Interstate 95. Georgia 57 meanwhile enters the scene from Townsend to the southeast

Somewhat later in the day, we opted to loop into Savannah via Georgia 204, Veterans Parkway, Interstate 516, Interstate 16, and U.S. 17 across the Talmadge Bridge. Traffic woes virtually paralyzed Georgia 204 westbound at both Interstate 95 and the King George Boulevard intersection west of Veterans Parkway. Growth of the Bryan County town of Richmond Hill as a bedroom community undoubtedly is putting pressure on Abercorn Street Extension (Georgia 204) as a commuter route. To augment some of these woes, GADOT is considering an interchange at King George Boulevard and widening to eight overall lanes of Georgia 204 through South Side Savannah!

Meanwhile north in Savannah itself, here’s the view of downtown and the famous Savannah River from the Talmadge Bridge to the west.

The Talmadge Bridge lowers onto Hutchinson Island midway between the Savannah Front and Back Rivers. The Back River overall represents the state boundary between Georgia and South Carolina. North of the majestic cable-stayed bridge over the Front River is a substandard two-lane concrete viaduct carrying U.S. 17 into swampy Jasper County, S.C. There is virtually nothing along the drive from the Peach State north to Hardeeville, except for a few nude bars and such. Intertwining between the pron and interchange with Interstate 95 is South Carolina 170 Alternate and South Carolina 170 south and north. The Alternate route loops east to Levy from U.S. 17 to South Carolina 170 southeast of Hardeeville. It was originally South Carolina 170 itself. When U.S. 17 Alternate became the U.S. 17 mainline, old U.S. 17 became the new South Carolina 170. New South Carolina 170 follows the Houlihan Bridge north from Port Wentworth, Georgia to a partial “Y” interchange with U.S. 17 near Limehouse.

A short access road provides access onto South Carolina 170 south from U.S. 17 north here. Further north, South Carolina 170 splits from U.S. 17 en route to U.S. 278 west of Hilton Head Island and U.S. 21 at Burton.

Once in Hardeeville, we remained on U.S. 17 on its parallel alignment to Interstate 95 northward to Ridgeland. At Ridgeland, U.S. 17 merges onto Interstate 95, leading one to think that old U.S. 17 was perhaps build over or was discontinuous. However after looking at aerial images, the old alignment is fully in tact, even with four-lane sections, on its parallel alignment northward to the U.S. 17 split with Interstate 95 near Yemassee.

Day 4 starts on the road at around 11 am and proceeds west from Summerville, SC to Interstate 95 on  U.S. 17 Alternate. A little bit about U.S. 17A first: U.S. 17 veers northeast from the Interstate 95 corridor at Yemassee, South Carolina for Charleston and the coast. U.S. 17A provides an overall inland bypass route for the U.S. 17 routing between Yemassee and Georgetown. While Interstate 95 and other freeways have dwarfed the U.S. highway system in importance overall, U.S. 17 and the Atlantic Coast from Savannah northward generally is not served by an Interstate highway. So Interstate 95′s path provides a long-distance bypass of the coast, but does not serve the regional needs such as movements between Savannah and Myrtle Beach. That is where U.S. 17 Alternate comes into play. However the path is two-lanes for the most part, and between Summerville and Moncks Corner, congestion and heavy development rules the road. Traffic counts are relatively low in the rural areas though.

U.S. 15 ends at junction U.S. 17 Alternate within the town of Walterboro, South Carolina. The U.S. highway travels northward from here all the way to Painted Post, New York, and originally continued from there to downtown Rochester, New York.

Once south of Yemassee, U.S. 17 joins Interstate 95 for a 20-mile or so overlap southward to Ridgeland. One would assume that the original alignment was overridden or is impassable because of the overlap. However that is not the case as aerial photos will attest, as old U.S. 17 remains as a frontage road, with four lanes even in some spots! At Exit 22 (Ridgeland), U.S. 17 leaves the freeway via a trumpet interchange for a parallel alignment of Interstate 95. Shortly south of there, U.S. 278 joins for 12 miles to a point just north of Hardeeville. U.S. 17 & 278 follow I-95 closely to the west, providing a viable alternate route in case of an accident closure or what not.

U.S. 17 departs Interstate 95 at Exit 22 for Ridgeland and Hardeeville. Paralleling the freeway within sight distance, U.S. 17 joins U.S. 278 for the drive between Ridgeland and Hardeeville.

U.S. 321 ends at Hardeeville just south of the U.S. 17 & 321 split. Signs on Interstate 95 reflect U.S. 321, but the highway never actually makes it to the freeway. U.S. 17 meanwhile widen to four lanes from U.S. 321 south to the split with South Carolina 170 (old U.S. 17 mainline). When the new Talmadge Bridge was completed over the Savannah River, South Carolina and Georgia agreed to reroute U.S. 17 from its bypass routing to the northwest at Port Wentworth to the routing through the city of Savannah. That left old U.S. 17 to be replaced with South Carolina 170 (technically South Carolina 17-0) and for the remaining portion in Georgia as just Georgia 25. U.S. 17 provides a direct route into Savannah from Interstate 95, but it is only two-lanes from the South Carolina 170 interaction southward to Hutchinson Island on the Savannah River.

Vintage button copy signs remain in use at the U.S. 17 and South Carolina 170 southbound split. An interchange joins the two highways north of their respective crossings of the Savannah River. Close observation of the overheads reveal a scraped off “ALT” on the left-hand panel and “US 17″ on the right-hand panel, for the U.S. 17 split routing until 1988.

South Carolina 170 and Georgia 25 follow old U.S. 17 across the Houlihan Bridge at Port Wentworth, Georgia. The two-lane routing remained part of U.S. 17 until 1988 because of a rift between South Carolina and Georgia and the original tolled-Talmadge Bridge. Despite tolls coming down from the bridge in 1975, U.S. 17 remained to the northwest with U.S. 17 Alternate following the bridge until the 1988 relocation in anticipation of the replacement Talmadge Bridge. South Carolina initially objected to U.S. 17 following the Talmadge Bridge because of its tolls. The old alignment of U.S. 17 today carries truck traffic to the industrial Port Wentworth and Garden City for the Port of Savannah. Georgia 25 and U.S. 17 reunite at the Interstate 516 interchange with Interstate 16.

Crossing the James P. Houlihan Memorial Bridge over the Savannah River along South Carolina 170/Georgia 25 southbound. The narrow bridge includes a lift-section for large vessels traveling the river below.

Shifting to east of Savannah, the Harry S. Truman Parkway provides a link between downtown Savannah and the eastern reaches of the city. The newest segment of the freeway opened last Summer between Georgia 204 Spur (Whitfield Avenue) and Montgomery Cross Road. There’s some significance of that for me as I spent a couple of years living out on Skidaway Island during my childhood. Seeing the freeway end at Georgia 204 Spur (which was not signed until 1991), was quite a change for how the road looked throughout the 1980s and 1990s. A half-diamond interchange exists there awaiting Phase E of the Truman Parkway, the final link between downtown and South Side Savannah. Phase E construction begins in 2009 to extend the freeway west to Georgia 204 (Abercorn Street Extension) at its turn from north-south to east-west.

In June 2005, the Harry S. Truman Parkway opened between Montgomery Cross Road and Georgia 204 Spur (Whitfield Avenue) in the southeastern Savannah area. The extension joins the freeway with the coastal areas including Skidaway and Burnside Island. A grass stub end lies at the half-diamond interchange with Whitfield Avenue awaiting the westward extension to Georgia 204 (Abercorn Street). Construction that begins in 2009 involves building over the Vernon River and associated wetlands between Georgia 204 Spur and South Side Savannah.

Back in Savannah itself, Georgia 204 (Abercorn Street) is awful as ever. The six to eight lane arterial crawled for it being midday. I remember traffic bad in 1983 on the road, and it seems that its worse then ever. It took about 15 minutes just to get from Montgomery Cross Road (Georgia 204 Spur’s north end) to De Renne Avenue (Georgia 21′s south end)!

After reminiscing with Savannah, it was time to bolt out of town via Interstate 516 west to Interstate 16 west to Interstate 95 south. Widening of Interstate 95 from U.S. 84 (Exit 76) southward to Exit 58 (Eulonia area) is underway and many portions of the highway look to be near completion. The Interstate 95 Business signed at Darien (Georgia 251) appears on mainline guide signs, but the shield once posted at the freeway overpass is no more! So mark that Business Loop as dead for all intents and purposes.

Exit 49 guide signs still display Business Loop Interstate 95 on the Interstate 95 mainline, but once off the freeway, the loop cannot be found…

Next in line was Jacksonville. Interstate 95 through the city has two major construction projects underway. The first is the Trout River bridge replacement project. The original spans carrying four lanes will be replaced with a pair of higher three-lane span. Much of the new deck is already in place for the replacement southbound span and work will be complete on the entire project by early 2008. Further south road work involving reconstruction of the Interstate 10 and 95 interchange is also well underway. At stake is the replacement of the original substandard interchange with a new high-speed stack. Work began on this project, dubbed ”The Big I” (New Mexico rip-off anyone?), in 2005 and it should be complete by 2011.

Spurring south from Interstate 10 is a short freeway spur (more like a glorified off-ramp) for U.S. 17, the Roosevelt Expressway. U.S. 17 proceeds south from there along the six-lane Roosevelt Boulevard to Jacksonville Naval Air Station and Orange Park. The stretch of roadway is significant in that a proposal is underway to reroute U.S. 17 from Roosevelt Boulevard between Interstate 10 and Interstate 295 south onto the Jacksonville area freeway network. The logic is that Roosevelt Boulevard no longer serves the through needs of a U.S. highway evidentially, but as I saw on Monday, the road actually flowed great for 4 pm, carrying decent amounts of traffic, and providing access to Jacksonville NAS from Interstate 295.

Interstate 95 southbound at the eastern terminus of Interstate 10.

U.S. 17 (Roosevelt Boulevard) southbound within the interchange at Florida 21 (Blanding Boulevard). This stretch of six-lane highway may soon be just Florida 15 if U.S. 17 is siphoned onto the freeway network.

U.S. 17 carried us south all the way to Palatka, and we opted for Florida 19 south to Marion County 314, Florida 40, and Interstate 75 at Ocala. On Florida 40 is a high-level bridge that once was supposed to span the wide Cross Florida Barge Canal. Plans for the canal were abandoned a long time ago, but not before a high-level bridge was built for Florida 40. The bridge spans the relatively narrow Ocklawaha River.

The freeway, known as the Liberty Expressway (though not signed as such), carries in part U.S. 19, U.S. 82, Georgia 3, Georgia 300, and Georgia 520 (Georgia GRIP Corridor Z). It bypasses downtown Albany and the commercial strips of U.S. 19 Business (Olgethorpe Boulevard) & 82 Business (Slappey Drive), and also provides a truck route for through traffic between Columbus and Interstate 75.

While the road is similar in scope to the Bainbridge Bypass, with diamond interchanges, older concrete bridges (both span the Flint River too), the Liberty Expressway does include full shoulders and a 65 MPH speed limit for part of its route.

Let’s dodge some rain drops and take a look…

U.S. 82 & Georgia 520 turn onto the Liberty Expressway at the trumpet interchange with Dawson Road. An Interstate 75 shield appears, even though the freeway is 45 miles to the east. Dawson Road meanwhile travels southeast into downtown Albany.

Traveling east on the Liberty Expressway, after U.S. 19 & Georgia 3 merge on from Slappey Boulevard. All Georgia 520 shields are signed in green to reflect the highway’s status as Georgia GRIP Corridor Z. For more on Corridor Z, see Steve William’s South Georgia Parkway page

.

U.S. 82 & Georgia 520 leave the Liberty Expressway for Clark Avenue. U.S. 19 & Georgia 3-300 continue south to the three-quarter cloverleaf interchange with Olgethorpe Avenue (U.S. 82 Business & Georgia 520 Business). U.S. 82 follows a bypass route to the north of the older Olgethorpe Avenue.

The Liberty Expressway features a sequential-based exit numbering system that begins at the U.S. 19 & Georgia 3-300 interchange with Georgia 133 (Moultrie Road). Georgia 133 travels southeast from Albany to Moultrie and to the nearby Marine Corps Logistics Base. Note the Marines symbol situated next to the Georgia 133 shield on the overhead.

The Liberty Expressway exit numbers begin at Georgia 133, but the freeway itself does not commence until after the traffic light with Worth Street. Worth Street represents the frontage road along the west side of U.S. 19, while a commercial establishment lies to the east of the signal.

U.S. 19 & Georgia 3-300 transition into freeway and quickly interchange with U.S. 19 Business-82 Business and Georgia 520 Business. The business trio follow Olgethorpe Boulevard west to Albany State University, the Albany Civic Center, and downtown.

U.S. 19-82 & Georgia 3-520 span the Flint River and then next meet Georgia 91 & 133 (N. Jefferson Street). Georgia 91 and 133 share pavement southward through downtown.

U.S. 19 & Georgia 3 leave the Liberty Expressway for Slappey Boulevard north for Americus, and eventually Atlanta! As for the name, Slappey Boulevard is perhaps named after Albany-native and 1920 MLB player John Slappey

The Liberty Expressway draws to a close at the trumpet interchange with Dawson Road. Dawson Road is simply signed as “Downtown Albany” here. U.S., 82 & Georgia 520 continue northwest to Dawson and Columbus.

I didn’t catch how locals pronounce the word Albany, so I will assume it’s the same as New York’s Albany. However I’ve heard it referred to on The Weather Channel before as Al-Ban-ee instead of All-ben-e. Please post a comment if you know the correct pronunciation. )
And that’s a wrap…