Murphy's World

(Roller) Coasting through Atlanta

Dear Murphy,

Here is my horror story. I was told to take a load of potatoes to Atlanta. My directions were to take exit 42 off I-75 onto Buford Highway, turn north and go two miles to whatever street. Well, I took exit 42, wound around down to the traffic light and tried to figure out which way was north. That’s when I saw the sign that said “North Buford Highway.” Naturally, I turned that way. As it turns out, that wasn’t north onto Buford Highway; that was “North Buford Highway.”

North Buford Highway isn't really a highway; it's an inner-city street with six lanes of traffic, a stop-and-go light about every mile, pedestrians everywhere and lots of hills. After about four miles it turns into a freeway-type parkway.

At that point, I figured I should turn around before I got totally lost. I started looking for an exit with an entrance ramp on the opposite side. I seized the opportunity to do just that, only to have the ramp loop back over the freeway and come up to a traffic light on the side of the highway I had just exited. My only choice was to turn right onto an inner-city, four-lane,
two-way, business-district, college-area street with stop lights on every block.

That’s when I got scared. I came across a burned-out 7-11 store and was able to turn around in the empty parking lot and get back to the North Buford Highway. Right then and there, I promised myself I would never again get off the freeway again unless it says “truck stop” or “truck route.” I hope you veterans get a good laugh out of this story, because it sure tickles me.

Steve (Kirby) Curry
St. Paul, MN

Dear Steve,

Off-ramps that loop over, under and double back on you? A hilly, up-and-down roadway leading to sudden stops? That wasn’t a highway; that was a roller coaster.
As you know, we look for silver linings in Murphy’s World, and here’s the one in your story: Be thankful the road you were looking for was named “Buford” and not “Peachtree.” Atlanta has something like 87 different streets that include the word “Peachtree” in the name. If you were trying to find “Peachtree Highway” instead of “Buford Highway,” you’d still be in Atlanta, driving yourself crazy.

Thanks for writing. I’m sure our many veteran road warrior readers will find your E-ticket amusement ride through Atlanta amusing.

Regards,
Murphy and Lucky Dog