Interstate 3
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| South end: | Savannah, Georgia |
| North end: | Knoxville, Tennessee |
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Main route of the Interstate Highway System |
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Interstate 3 (I-3), the Third Infantry Division Highway, is a proposed Interstate Highway in the United States to run from Savannah, Georgia, north to Augusta, Georgia, and Knoxville, Tennessee. The roadway was proposed in the same federal highway measure that gave birth to a proposal for Interstate 14.
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[edit] History
In 2005, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was signed into law by President George W. Bush. The act included the proposed corridors for the planned I-14 (specifically as the 14th Amendment Highway), and I-3 (as the 3rd Infantry Division Highway). The legislation did not provide the official numbering, nor did it provide funding for the highways.
The proposed numbering of the highway does not fit within the existing Interstate Highway grid, but was noted to salute and honor the Third Infantry Division of the United States Army, based at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
According to the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Savannah River Parkway, which carries the designations SR 555 and SR 565, is 100% open to traffic.[citation needed]
The Savannah River Parkway begins just northwest of Savannah at the intersection of Interstate 95 and SR 21. It goes northwesterly along SR 21, paralleling the Savannah River, to Millen, where it meets US 25. From Millen, the roadway follows US 25 to Interstate 520 in Augusta. A western branch of the Savannah River Parkway runs from Interstate 16 south of Statesboro north and northwestward (following US 25) to meet the main parkway roadway in Millen.
The proposal faces local opposition from groups concerned about the environmental impact of the Interstate Highway. No date for construction of the highway has been set. In July 2010, the federal government began a study of the proposed route.[1]
[edit] Route description
The actual final route of I-3 is unknown. However, the 2005 SAFETEA-LU legislation indicated that in Georgia, I-3 would follow the existing Savannah River Parkway from Savannah to Augusta.
Due to the difficulties of building a new highway through the Appalachian Mountains, the route north of Augusta is less clear. In early 2008, officials introduced the possibility of routing I-3 through Greenwood, South Carolina and continuing on to Greenville.[2] Other potential routes continue in Georgia along U.S. 441, U.S. 129 (along the Dragon, an eleven-mile stretch of road with 318 curves), or Georgia State Route 77.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Feds eyeing possible interstate through Tenn., Ga.". Associated Press. The Daily Times. 2010-08-22. http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20100823/NEWS/308239974. Retrieved 2010-08-23.[dead link]
- ^ Athens Banner-Herald, January 2, 2008
- ^ Map of Potential Routes of I-3[dead link], Stop I-3 Coalition
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 3 |
