- - Macon, Georgia , USA - -

This page provides quick links to information concerning a proposed new-road project commonly called the

Eisenhower Parkway Extension

COMBINED PROJECTS ALTERNATIVE

rationale by Sylvia Flowers, September 2006

Since removing I-16 from Ocmulgee National Monument’s mile-long river boundary is probably an impossible dream and too many people would object to the current Eisenhower Parkway Extension terminating at a Muscogee (Creek) casino – the ultimate win-win, my secondary wish would be to continue the present Eisenhower Parkway Extension along a route paralleling Seventh Street, terminating at an improved MLK Blvd/5^th St interchange with I-16, with the Macon Levee broken downstream from Central City Park allowing the river to again access its’traditional floodplain. But, since two people I respect independently came up with the idea of a combined projects alternative as a possible compromise and they have asked my opinion, here are some thoughts that come to mind:

PROJECTS/PROBLEMS INVOLVED:
1.    EISENHOWER PARKWAY EXTENSION CONSRUCTION (Est. $150-million)

2         I-75/I-16 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS (Est. $202-million)

2.        SEPARATE FALL LINE FREEWAY ROUTE (Get back the Macon designation; No Cost)

3.        MACON LEVEE REPAIRS (Much Needed; Cost Unknown)

4.        FUTURE FLOODING DAMAGE (Inevitable as Area Now Configured; Cost Unknown)

5.        DEGRADATION OF OCMULGEE NATIONAL MONUMENT, THE OCMULGEE OLD FIELDS TCP, AND BOND SWAMP NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (Unforgivable)

SOME BENEFITS OF JOINTLY ADDRESSING THESE PROJECTS/PROBLEMS:

Traffic Relief at Current I-75/I-16 Interchange (one of the stated GA DOT objectives)

Corridor for proposed Fall Line Freeway Near Downtown Macon (though Hwy 96 is the logical route)

New Flood-proof River Crossing (“they” say the Second St. bridge is not enough)

Alternative to Separate Costly Macon Levee Repairs (berm of new road could serve as new levee segment)

Solution to Upstream Flooding Problems (break levee below new river crossing)

Direct Access from I-16 to Seventh Street Industrial Brownfields (GA DOT objective)

Direct Access Between Seventh Street and Ocmulgee East Industrial Parks (GA DOT objective)

Route to Keep Big Trucks/Noise Out of Downtown Macon (along with a city prohibitive ordinance)

A new I-75/Seventh St. “Front Door” to Downtown Macon (would require a great deal of “beautifying”)

Attractive, Convenient I-16/MLK/Lower Poplar “Back Doors” to Downtown Macon

Downtown Location for New Ocmulgee National Monument Visitor Center

Site for Muscogee (Creek)/SE Indian Cultural/Research Center (old Visitor Center)

Short-Cut to Air Port/Macon Mall Areas From Eastern Bibb-Twiggs Counties

Places for Sports Arena, Riverside Amphitheater, Active Recreation (Inside New Levee)

”Watchable Wildlife” Preserve, New Downstream Riverside Trail System, Other Passive Recreation

Within Walking Distance of Downtown Macon (East of River & South of New Levee)

Expanded Tourism and Business/Industrial Economic Opportunities (how many cities have a National Monument, a

                National Wildlife Refuge, and their region’s first Traditional Cultural Property within a stone’s throw of

                its downtown??)

Large, Non-Controversial Expenditure of State/Federal Highway Funds in Macon (revenue desired by local leaders)

Efficient Cooperative-Compromise Solution to the Many Problems Related to all of the Above Projects

Means of Repairing Macon’s Tarnished Image in the Eyes of Concerned Citizens Nationwide

**Promotes:             *Macon’s Downtown Cultural, Historic, Natural, Recreational and Business Attractions**

                                Opportunities for Cooperative Projects With Muscogee (Creek) Nation

                                Macon and Okmulgee, OK, as “Sister Cities”

Seventh Street Brownfields Redevelopment

                      Transportation System “Continuity and Enhancement” (GA DOT objective)

                      Ocmulgee National Monument Expansion/Use

                       Ocmulgee Old Fields TCP Recognition/Appreciation

                       Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Expansion/Use (should connect to Ocmulgee NM)

                      Ocmulgee River Heritage Greenway & Trail Expansion/Use

                       Ocmulgee River National Heritage Corridor Designation (should have been promoted long ago)

                     Wise Use of Ocmulgee River Wetlands and Floodplain

                Wise Use of Local, State, Federal Taxpayer’s Money

                          Macon/Bibb County Community Unity

**Preserves                  Ocmulgee National Monument

Protects                      Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Improves:             *Ocmulgee Old Fields TCP**

                   Scott-McCall Archaeological Preserve

                       Central City Park and Downtown Historic/Museum DistrictAttractions

                                       Ocmulgee River Heritage Greenway

                                      Browns Mount

                                      Ocmulgee River Wetlands

                                       Ocmulgee River Floodplain

                                      Ocmulgee River Peat Deposit (largest known outside the Okefenokee)

                                      Regional Water and Air Quality

                                Seventh Street Industrial Brownfields

                                      Ocmulgee River Wildlife Habitat and Migration Corridor

                                The “Ice Age to Space Age” Continuity of Macon/Ocmulgee Old Fields

                                Macon/Bibb County’s Public Image



Keep Informed and Seek Greater Involvement - Eisenhower Parkway Extension Opposition:

*Council of the Five Civilized Tribes,
United South and Eastern Tribes,
National Congress of American Indians,
National Parks Conservation Association,
Archaeological Conservancy,
National Trust for Historic Preservation,
Society for American Archaeology,
Society for Georgia Archaeology,
Sierra Club,
Wilderness Society,
Center for Law in the Public Interest,
American Indian Movement,
Sacred Sites International,
Chattanooga Inter-tribal Council,
Georgia PRIG,
Altamaha/Ocmulgee Riverkeepers,
Georgia Indian Riders Association,
Indian Burials and Sacred Grounds Watch,
Sacred Lands,
The People’s Path,
Friends of Ocmulgee Old Fields,
numerous college and high school groups, faculty members at many universities, etc.

This alliance of organizations represents over 450 federally recognized Indian nations representing well over 1-million members, along with thousands of individual local, regional, national, and international citizens who have written to HDR, Inc. (former GDOT consultant), GDOT, FHWA, and federal legislators to protest further degradation of Ocmulgee National Monument and the Ocmulgee Old Fields TCP.

Final Thought:

Getting an Eisenhower Parkway interchange constructed on the Ocmulgee Old Fields TCP may please some local business people and politicians, but it will continue to divide local citizens and further tarnish Macon’s image on an even grander scale.

this page is maintained by
Lindsay D Holliday for Caution Macon

COMBINED PROJECTS ALTERNATIVE