Gordon Highway is a major highway in the east-central part of the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, traveling through the southern part of Columbia County and the northeastern part of

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

. It is named after

Confederate general The general officers of the Confederate States Army (CSA) were the senior military leaders of the Confederacy during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. They were often former officers from the United States Army (the regular army) prior to ...

John Brown Gordon John Brown Gordon () was an attorney, a slaveholding plantation owner, general in the Confederate States Army, and politician in the postwar years. By the end of the Civil War, he had become "one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals." Af ...

. At its western end, it is a relatively rural highway, but at its eastern end, it is an urban corridor of the Augusta metropolitan area. It connects

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and rural areas of southern Columbia County with Augusta and

North Augusta, South Carolina North Augusta is a city in Aiken and Edgefield counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) ...

. It also serves as the two main entry points to

Fort Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cyber Command, and the Cyber Center of Excellence. It ...

. Its entire length, from the southeastern edge of Harlem to the Georgia–

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

state line on the northeastern edge of Augusta, is signed as part of US 78/ US 278/ SR 10. In Augusta, it is signed as parts of US 1 and US 25/ SR 121.

Route description

Columbia County

Gordon Highway begins as part of the concurrency of US 78/ US 278/ SR 10 on the southeastern edge of the

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...

in Columbia County, where the roadway continues into the city with the local name of Milledgeville Road. The highway travels through the

unincorporated communities An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

and

Berzelia ''Berzelia'' is a genus consisting of 12 species of upright, wiry-stemmed, evergreen shrubs with a dense covering of small, fine, needle-like leaves. The flowers which appear in spring and summer, are minute but are packed in spherical clusters ...

. A few thousand feet later, Gordon Highway curves to the northeast, entering into

(and the city limits of Augusta), and begins paralleling the northern edge of

Richmond County

Kmart (Gordon Highway) Augusta, GA (6788306980)

Gordon Highway serves as the access point for

Augusta State Medical Prison Augusta State Medical Prison is located in Grovetown on the County lines of Columbia County and Richmond County in Georgia, United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or ...

. A short distance later is Fort Gordon's Gate 3, a

commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to ...

gate for the

Army base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and Military operation, operations. A military base always provides ...

. At the intersection with the eastern terminus of SR 223 (East Robinson Avenue), is an

access road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...

for Fort Gordon's Gate 2, a variable-hour gate. Approximately later is an intersection with the southern terminus of SR 383 (Jimmie Dyess Parkway) and the northern terminus of an access road to Fort Gordon's Gate 1, the 24-hour main gate for the base. About halfway between this intersection and the interchange with Interstate 520 (I-520;

Bobby Jones Expressway The Bobby Jones Expressway is a roadway in the U.S. state of Georgia that is named for golfer Bobby Jones. It follows: * Georgia State Route 232's easternmost (from its intersection with SR 104 and Old Evans Road in Martinez to its eastern t ...

), Gordon Highway leaves the edge of Fort Gordon and begins to transition into an urban corridor. After the interstate, the roadway enters the main part of Augusta, traveling south of Aquinas High School, and curves to the south-southeast, past the location of the now-closed Regency Mall. Immediately after a slight curve to the east is an intersection with US 1/ SR 4 (Deans Bridge Road). At this intersection, US 1 joins the concurrency. Gordon Highway curves slightly to the east-southeast to an interchange with US 25/ SR 121 (Peach Orchard Road), which both join the concurrency. The six highways take Gordon Highway to the east-northeast and intersect the northern terminus of

Doug Barnard Parkway Doug is a male personal name (or, depending on which definition of "personal name" one uses, part of a personal name). It is sometimes a given name (or "first name"), but more often it is hypocorism (affectionate variation of a personal name) which ...

(former SR 56 Spur) and the southern terminus of Molly Pond Road. Gordon Highway curves to the north-northeast and intersects Laney Walker Boulevard, thus effectively entering

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

. It travels just to the northwest of Magnolia Cemetery, Cedar Grove Cemetery, and May Park and southeast of the

James Brown Arena James Brown Arena (formerly known as Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center) is a multi-purpose complex located in Augusta, Georgia. It is managed by Spectra Experiences. It features an 8,000-seat arena, renamed the James Brown Arena, in honor of ...

. A short distance later, they travel to the east of

Old Medical College The Old Medical College Building is a historic academic building at 598 Telfair Street in Augusta, Georgia, US. It was built in 1835 for the Medical College of Georgia, then and now one of the leading medical schools of the American South. It was ...

and the

Old Government House Old Government House may refer to: * Old Government House, Parramatta, Australia * Old Government House, Queensland, Australia * Old Government House, South Australia, Australia * Old Government House, Hobart, Australia * Old Government House, ...

, then have an interchange with US 25 Bus./ SR 28 ( Broad Street). Here, US 25 Bus. meets its southern terminus. Just after this interchange, the highway crosses over the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the norther ...

into

. At the state line, SR 10/Gordon Highway end, while US 1/US 25/US 78/US 278, concurrent with

South Carolina Highway 121 South Carolina Highway 121 (SC 121) is a major state highway that travels north and south in central parts of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway is actually part of a long multi-state highway that also exists in Florida and ...

(SC 121), travel on the

Jefferson Davis Highway The Jefferson Davis Highway, also known as the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway, was a planned transcontinental highway in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s that began in Arlington, Virginia, and extended south and west to San Diego, Cal ...

to the northeast toward North Augusta. The entire length of Gordon Highway in Richmond County is part of the National Highway System, a system of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.

History

Gordon Highway may have existed in 1955 when it was proposed in the 1950s stretching from Milldegeville Road to North Augusta, which made getting to Augusta faster. in 1957, it was extended to 5th Street; that year US 1/US 25/US 78/US 278/SR 10/SR 12/SR 21 were shifted there. During the 1980's and 1990s there were widening project on Gordon Highway Following the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

after the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

during the Summer of 2020, Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis created the Task Force on Confederate Monuments, Street Names and Landmarks. The eleventh member task force - consisting of local historians, educators, descendants of Confederate figures, and community activists - was charged with examining the renaming, relocating, or removal of places in Augusta that honor Confederate military figures. The panel returned a final report to the Augusta Commission in October 2020 with a recommendation that the name of Gordon Highway be renamed. Since the final report has been submitted with the recommended relocation, no action has been taken on the issue.

Major intersections

References