Any word on the Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta Expressway? (Columbus, Savannah: how much, airport, housing)

[A&M Bulldawg]

Any word on the Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta Expressway?

[Saintmarks]

Of all the proposals for future interstates/expressways in GA, this one is low on the radar. About the only thing I have seen get serious discussion about this is a connector from I 75 to US 411 in the Cartersville area. This would give Rome, GA a more direct connection to Atlanta. It seems that this would have been the start of the Expressway corridor you are referring to.

I have seen more discussion of a proposed I 3 from Savannah to Augusta and then Athens up toward Tennessee and for I-185 to extend from Columbus thru S. GA to Tallahasse. Saw a thread here that talked of taking this same freeway north to have a western bypass around Atlanta and join I-75 around Calhoun. There was a suggestion that this be renamed I-81 which currently has its southern terminus at Knoxville.

There is also a proposal for an I-14 that would go from Natchez, MS, thru the southern part of AL to Columbus thru Macon to Augusta. Have also seen this proposal to track more southerly, to go thru Albany and terminate at Brunswick.

The badly needed outer perimeter got shut down by the current governor when he first came to office. The Northern Atlanta burbs desperately need an east-west alternative. The Northern Arc would have tied in with this Huntsville to Atlanta Expressway along the northwestern corner.

I think an alternative would be to tie this into the I-3 proposal. This would be an expressway from Savannah to Augusta to Athens then skirting north of Gainsville over to the Dalton area, staying just south of the most mountainous parts of N. GA. from there it could go in a more east/west route to Huntsville, thru the Muscle Shoals area and on to Memphis.

I've seen some of your posts on the AL page. You are like me and like to know what kind of developments, roads, etc are proposed. As housing and commercial developments are going to continue to slow, but we have a new president promising a bunch of public works, maybe we will see the green light for more of these proposed freeways.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

The badly needed outer perimeter got shut down by the current governor when he first came to office. The Northern Atlanta burbs desperately need an east-west alternative. The Northern Arc would have tied in with this Huntsville to Atlanta Expressway along the northwestern corner.

The Northern Arc is exactly what should NOT be built. The old adage "if you build it, they will come" will certainly apply - the buildup along that road would be enormous and only exacerbate the sprawl problem here in Atlanta.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by KE111691

Any word on the Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta Expressway?

This makes little sense to me in lieu of the fact that a great deal of money has been put into upgrading US 78 from Memphis to Birmingham into a limited access highway; it will join I-20 near downtown Birmingham.

[atl1221]

I-22 will go between Memphis and Birmingham. The Alabama portion is nearly complete, but the Mississippi portion will take some upgrading.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by wxjay

The Northern Arc is exactly what should NOT be built. The old adage "if you build it, they will come" will certainly apply - the buildup along that road would be enormous and only exacerbate the sprawl problem here in Atlanta.

But they are coming anyway! That's the logic I don't understand. Atlanta hasn't added a new freeway other than 400 since the interstate grid was established in the 50s and 60s. They came anyway!

So instead, lets put a bag over our heads and sit forever on two lane roads with multiple traffic lights. If we don't build a new freeway, then the people will not build in Cherokee or Forsyth or Paulding or Henry

Here in DFW which is very similar in many ways to Atlanta, growth patterns very identical both in numbers and in direction from the core cities, you have several other options for cross metro traffic. Atlanta still has no other option for cross suburban traffic except to go into the "hub" (285) and then back out again on another spoke.

For example, say you are in Alpharetta and want to go to Kennesaw. A straight shot east west would be ideal. But no, if you want a Freeway, you have to go south on 400, loop around 285 and then back out 75. Most times of day, it is ridiculous to do that. So you have to take any number of back roads, some that have been upgraded, some not and a plethora of traffic lights in between.

Imagine a map of Dallas superimposed on Atlanta. Out here, 635 circles the city of Dallas much like 285 around Atlanta. But above that, you have the Bush Turnpike which would be like having a 6 lane toll road connecting Town Center to Northpoint to Gwinnett Place (maybe a tad closer to Atlanta than this -- maybe Marietta to Roswell to Norcross.) Work is now completing on the 121 Tollway from DFW airport to McKinney which would be like a Road say from Acworth to Alpharetta to Buford. In the planning stages is a ring road around the whole of DFW, this will be similar to what the original outer perimeter would have been, even maybe a few miles further out from Atlanta than that proposal, Cartersville to Canton to Gainesville and on around in a complete circle.

How much nicer would Atlanta commute times be if there were an expressway from Douglasville to Marietta on to Roswell and Norcross then on to Lawrenceville, Snellville and then Lithonia? Complete that loop around the southern end back to Douglasville. I mean all these areas are for the most part solidly built out anyway. Not building this type of an expressway did not stop the sprawl here did it? But how much nicer Atlanta commutes would be if someone had had a vision for this in 1970.

Build it and they will come, maybe, but the inverse is not true: Don't build it and they won't come.