Georgia DOT Bridge No. is a reinforced concrete slab railroad overpass bridge that was constructed in This bridge is significant for its design and workmanship, and for its role in the development of transportation and commercial activity in the City of Columbus and Muscogee County, Georgia. Report Prepared By Lauren A. Cotton Transportation Planner II Georgia Department of Transportation Office of Environment/Location Aviation Circle Atlanta, Georgia r Date : November I Georgia DOT Bridge No. HAER No. GA-124 Page 2 Georgia DOT Bridge No. is a reinforced concrete slab railroad overpass bridge that was constructed in The bridge measures 62 feet in length, and has a vertical clearance of feet.
Architectural details of interest include reinforced concrete approach walls and arched concrete balustrades. Georgia DOT Bridge No. carries the eastbound and westbound tracks of the Central of Georgia Railroad. Historically, this line ran between Birmingham, Alabama and Union Station in Columbus, Georgia. Georgia DOT Bridge No. is located on Fourth Avenue between Sixteenth and Seventeenth Streets spanning U.S. 1/Fourth Avenue in the City of Columbus, Georgia. The bridge functions as a railroad overpass that carries the eastbound and westbound tracks of the Central of Georgia Railroad.
The area in which the bridge was constructed was originally known as North Commons, and was developed at the turn-of-the-century North Commons was located north of the downtown area in Columbus, and originally was comprised of several blocks of small single-family frame residences.
Given its proximity to the Central of Georgia Railroad, a few industrial establishments also historically were a part of the North Commons neighborhood A review of the available city directories of Columbus, Georgia from through demonstrates that the North Commons area was historically a predominantly African-American residential neighborhood (1) Muscogee County Courthouse, Columbus, Georgia, Deed Book 107 Page (2) Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Columbus, Georgia, (Pelham, New York: Sanborn Map Company), page 38 and Volume 1, Pages (3) Columbus, Georgia City Directory, (Charleston, South Carolina: William H. Walsh Directory Company), p. 87. Columbus, Georgia City Directory, (Charleston, South Carolina: William H. Walsh Directory Company), p.
128 and Columbus, Georgia City Directory, (Charleston, South Carolina: William H. Walsh Directory Company). Polk's Columbus (Muscogee ( County, Georgia) City Directory, (Birmingham, Alabama: Polk and Company), p. 502 and Georgia DOT Bridge No. HAER No. GA-124 Page 3 The and Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Columbus, Georgia also show the presence of a "Negro" church, known as the Metropolitan Baptist Church, located on Third Avenue between Sixteenth and Seventeenth Streets Today much of the area historically known as North Commons is characterized by late-twentieth century commercial development and vacant lots. Only a few of the single family vernacular houses that represent the original pattern of residential development in this area are still extant. Georgia DOT Bridge No.
is significant for its design and workmanship, and for its role in the development of transportation and commercial activity in the City of Columbus and Muscogee County, Georgia. (4) Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Columbus, Georgia, (Pelham, New York: Sanborn Map Company), page 3 8 and Volume 1, 192 9, Pages r Georgia DOT Bridge No. HAERNo. GA-124 Page 4 | ' im g 1,1 1 ,, _WSTjNO/W__ ' L. EXISTING R/W EXISTING PVMENT J-L EXISTING PVMENT / I I I ", \ \ ...[XiaiNGJVMENJ EISIINGPMNI EXISTING R/W ' Vri' EXISTING R/W : * - . 'O' , / 't- - > / / / -R'i i / / "* * ' / ' I ^ '^ I 2' 'O' ,^ / ' ^"^ / / e-y '^ I ( i /f I > /
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