You might not have been in town when Interstate 40 was under construction in the mid-1950s, or maybe you were too young to take notice of the changes that were taking place. The black and white photo above shows the view of the new highway in April 1957, from the Broad Street bridge. If you’re curious about what’s going on behind the barricades, here is a similar view that shows the highway reconstruction in April 2019.
Here’s another view from the Broad Street bridge, in 1957 and in 2019. The highway was further along in 1957, when the photos were made, than when the photos were made in 2019. There’s still a lot of grading that will take place before the road is built.
This view from the Broad Street bridge was taken in January 1957.
The photos shown above were taken from the Broad Street bridge about 2013 and in 2019.
Here’s a view from the Broad Street bridge facing west, with the Peters Creek Parkway bridge in the distance.
This view is from the Peters Creek Parkway bridge looking east, showing the exit and entrance ramps. All Interstate 40 traffic exits and enters at this location.
The first photo shows the exit and entrance ramps and BB&T baseball field. The next photo shows the newly constructed bridge on Peters Creek Parkway that goes over Interstate 40. There is also a pedestrian bridge, shown at the right. This is the main thoroughfare into downtown from Interstate 40, coming from the west. Traffic is directed toward First Street (which it crosses) and then to Broad Street (which it also crosses). The street has become Second Street at this point. Other traffic exiting from Interstate 40 can turn left and proceed down Peters Creek Parkway toward the Academy Street intersection.
Black and white photographs courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
Color images courtesy of Molly Grogan Rawls.
Stay tuned for the next delicious post on May 15th: Salem College-Style Iced Tea.
