This entry was posted on 1/5/2008 10:42 AM and is filed under uncategorized.
The Bee Is Dead... Long Live The Bee
Last night, I recevied a very interesting comment from
Comrade Otto the Duke of Yamamoto regarding FL Toll 528, a.k.a. "The Martin Anderson Beachline Expressway", f.k.a. "The Martin Anderson
Bee Line Expressway".
Years ago, this 40-mile (65 km) stretch of toll road in Central Florida used to have it's own shield with a bee on it. Said shield would be posted alongside the normal state route marker. I do remember it from childhood trips to Florida and a trip we took from Disney World to the Kennedy Space Center. Man, I do wish I had a photo of that shield from back in the day!
As for the road's current name, I do agree with the good Comrade that "Bee Line" was a better name. However, someone in the Florida legislature apparently didn't, so someone there in Tallahassee introduced
Florida House Bill 385, and as a result, the "Bee" was legislatively squashed and "Beach" was put in its place "in an effort to spur tourism and promote Central Florida beaches." (Source:
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise Martin Anderson Beachline Expressway webpage.) For a pictoral guide, please visit the
Southeast Roads FL 528 webpage on AARoads.
As long as I can remember, Florida is a tourist-driven state and I somehow don't really think that this name change was necessary... and, like the good Comrade, I do lament the loss of the unique signage the Bee Line had.
Come to think of it, it's just like here in Atlanta, where the Lakewood Freeway (GA 166) was renamed "Langford Parkway", or even worse, southwest Atlanta's Stewart Avenue being renamed "Metropolitan Parkway". In the case of Stewart Avenue, the name change was, IIRC, to help change the image of an area which for many years (and still today) is not exactly the nicest section of town.
Not being one to have a "pity party" over the death of the Bee (long live the Bee), let's get back to some Georgia road news.
A "Big Dig" for Sandy Springs?
In an effort to combat the traffic issues on Roswell Road (US 19/GA 9) at I-285, there is a proposal to build a potentially expensive one-mile (1.6 km) 4-lane tunnel under I-285 in Sandy Springs.
Please click here to read the AJC article.
Cable Barriers Coming To GA 400
On US 19/GA 400, between McFarland Parkway (Exit 12) and GA 306 (Exit 17), the Georgia DOT has contracted with a Michigan firm for approximately $2.5 million to install a cable barrier in the grassy median.
Please click here to read the AJC article.
That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.
