Alabama State Route 267

State Route 267 is a state highway in Alabama and a loop route of State Route 147, bypassing downtown Auburn to the west. For its entire 5.1 mile (8.2 km) length, SR-267 is known as the Shug Jordan Parkway (named for Auburn University football coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan).

Route description

With the exception of a 900-yard (820 m) segment at the northern terminus, State Route 267 lies wholly within the city limits of Auburn, Alabama. The highway makes up the western half of Auburn's cicumfrential inner loop, University Drive.

State Route 267 begins at State Route 147 (South College Street) at the southernmost point of the Auburn University campus. From there, it heads north-northwest and travels through the college's agricultural research fields for the next two miles (3 km). At milepost 2.3, SR-267 has a jughandle interchange with SR-14. SR-267 then turns to the northeast for the next 2.8 miles (4.5 km) before terminating back at SR-147 (now North College Street).

History

The original designation of SR-267 was U.S. Route 29. In 1986, the 5.1-mile (8.2 km) segment in Auburn was reassigned as the present-day SR-267.^[1][3]

The initial planning for State Route 267 began in the mid-1950s, when the City of Auburn first began planning for a perimeter road. While the eastern half of this perimeter road (named University Drive in the early 1960s) would follow segments of existing roads, the western half would be completely new. In addition, the western segment would cut across the property of Auburn University, a state institution over which the city had no power of eminent domain to acquire right-of-way. As such, this western segment was turned over to the Alabama Department of Transportation for construction and maintenance.

Initial right-of-way acquisition began in 1966, with construction beginning the following year. The original design called for a four-lane limited-access expressway, with interchanges at State Route 14 and Wire Road; however, budget constraints eliminated all grade separations except for the one at SR 14. The highway was completed in 1971 as "West University Drive", and was soon renamed "Shug Jordan Parkway" for the famed Auburn University football coach Ralph Jordan.

Major intersections

References