The Viaducts of Atlanta were mainly created in the 1920s to bridge numerous

level crossings A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also ...

of roads and railroads.

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

was founded as a railroad city. It had at least six major rail lines entering the city. There were many places where

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

traffic encountered that on the rails. The first viaduct was just the Broad Street bridge which was rebuilt several times, the second wooden version designed by

Lemuel Grant Lemuel Pratt Grant (1817–1893) was an American engineer and businessman. He was Atlanta's quintessential railroad man as well as a major landowner and civic leader. In railroads he served as a laborer, chief engineer, speculator and executi ...

in 1865 but longer viaducts were coming.

Downtown viaducts

* Mitchell Street (1899), which crosses the

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

tracks *

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...

(opened October 9, 1901) at a cost of $76,662.38. Rebuilt (opened October 1, 2007) at a cost of $6.7 million * Courtland Street (1906), which crosses the

Georgia Railroad 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 ...

tracks. Demolished and rebuilt (opened October 8th, 2018). * Washington Street (1909), which crosses the Central of Georgia Railroad tracks * Spring Street (opened December 20, 1923) – . Southern half rebuilt (1996), northern half being rebuilt (2014–2015). * Pryor Street (1929) – * Central Avenue viaduct (1929) – * Hunter Street lateral – * Alabama Street lateral – * Wall Street lateral – * Techwood Drive Viaduct

Other viaducts

In January 1913, the Bellwood Viaduct was opened, allowing car and foot traffic to cross the railroad line parallel to

Marietta Street Marietta Street is a historic street in Downtown Atlanta. The street leads from Atlanta towards the town of Marietta, as its name indicates. It begins as one of the five streets intersecting at Five Points, leading northwest, forming the sou ...

to the west side of the city via Bellwood avenue (now Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.)."First trip made across viaduct", ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Con ...

'', January 24, 1913, p,5

Gallery of viaduct plaques

File:Pryor Street and Central Ave Viaducts.JPG, Pryor Street and Central Avenue viaducts File:Techwood Drive Viaduct plaque.jpg, Techwood Drive Viaduct

References

* Garrett, Franklin, ''Atlanta and Its Environs'', 1954,

University of Georgia Press The University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is the university press of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. It is the oldest and la ...

. * Hoffman, Phillip, "Creating Underground Atlanta, 1898-1932", ''

Atlanta Historical Bulletin ''Atlanta History: A Journal of Georgia and the South'' was a publication of the Atlanta Historical Society. It was established in 1927 with one issue per year as the ''Atlanta Historical Bulletin''. In 1937, the journal began publishing three o ...

'', Vol. XIII, No. 3, 1968

Notes

History of Atlanta Roads in Atlanta {{GeorgiaUS-road-stub