The building of the Calhoun Expressway

[whitmans77]

man this got off topic quick....i would be interested in finding out more about the building of the expressway....and to be quite frank the cause of the civil war was all of the above

[EastsideDave]

Well, I figured I'd revive a dead thread. I don't know much about the Calhoun Expressway, only that it was named for John C. Calhoun, and that I've occasionally heard it referred to as the 'road to nowhere'. Anyone else have any info?

[All4Augusta]

lol road to nowhere thats a first lol!!!

[EastsideDave]

I've been looking into the reason for the construction of Calhoun for awhile now, still haven't found much, but I have found some things.

From what I've been able to piece together, I'm thinking that it was built as a way of connecting Washington Road directly to the heart of downtown and bypassing Harrisburg. I also believe that the elevated portion was constructed to allow traffic flow directly into downtown bypassing the railroad tracks.

Apparently though, Calhoun was originally going to be a much longer limited access highway that was going to somehow run between the Augusta County Club and the Augusta National, bypassing the congestion on Washington Road and actually connecting to I-20, but this plan never materialized. I also think that I remember reading somewhere that the elevated portion was also supposed to connect to Broad Street near 13th instead of connecting directly to Greene.
The best-laid plans for highway trends often go awry | The Augusta Chronicle

Also, I've found that the reason Riverwatch Parkway was built was to relieve traffic on Washington Road and Calhoun Expy. by making an easier route for people coming from Columbia County into downtown.

So, I've got about 90% of the story pieced together, but I'm still working on that last 10%.

[Atlanta-Kid]

At this point they should've built an interchange for river watch
or create an elevated expressway over Washington Rd and connect it to Calhoun
I know many Anti Highway people would hate that lol

[therealpattman]

The Calhoun Expressway should be lower to at grade and turned into a landscaped boulevard similar to how Greene St runs through Downtown or even Central Ave through Summerville. With the growth in Downtown, something that could be used as a Main St type of vibe would do wonders for Harrisburg especially if you add shops and restaurants along it.

[GRU_Minion]

Originally Posted by therealpattman

The Calhoun Expressway should be lower to at grade and turned into a landscaped boulevard similar to how Greene St runs through Downtown or even Central Ave through Summerville. With the growth in Downtown, something that could be used as a Main St type of vibe would do wonders for Harrisburg especially if you add shops and restaurants along it.

That would mean destructing 3 bridges and quite a long stretch of elevated freeway, aside from the earth moving to lower the rest of it. I'm not sure the excessive cost of doing that would be worth the longshot of an end result.

[Atlanta-Kid]

I’m sticking with elevated expressway over Washington Rd lol

[PJA]

Originally Posted by chevyguy

Who labeled them as racist's? More than likely someone with an agenda.

The civil war wasn't about slavery, that was Federal propaganda. It was about land/property/control.

If you don't believe that, look at the current situation this country is in.

The civil war was definitely about slavery at least from the south’s end. In each of the southern states declarations of secession them wanting to protect slavery was listed as the reason for secession.

[PJA]

Georgia’s articles of secession. http://civildiscourse-historyblog.co...uments-georgia