Finally. The Truman Parkway’s final phase is now open here in Savannah.
I left Armstrong at 12:32 p.m. and headed north on Abercorn. I got caught at a couple of lights — the one near Burger King and then the one at Largo — but then peeled off onto the northbound Truman. At 12:37, I was at the Whitefield Avenue intersection.
As I knew would happen, my route all the way down to Henry Street and then west to my house near Forsyth Park was a longer distance than the straight shot down Abercorn or White Bluff, but the entire trip from Armstrong to my house near Forsyth Park took 17 minutes — a hassle-free 17 minutes. Ordinarily, at 12:30 on a busy Friday around town, that trip would take at least 5 or 6 minutes more.
And, on that more time-consuming trip, I’d end up trying to fight through a whole series of congested intersections.
There were about 8 cars that turned onto the Truman at the same time that I did, with all of unnecessarily in the far right lane on Abercorn even though there are two turn lanes for northbound drivers. But the clump of cars quickly spaced itself out, and the only inkling of an issue was a car off Whitefield merging too slowly onto the Truman. That’s going to be a tricky spot for some Skidaway Island residents to get used to — they’ll now have to think about merging after years of being at the parkway’s terminus.
The new stretch of the Truman is a little flatter and straighter than the older phases.
Next time I’ll try getting off at the Victory Drive intersection. The congestion on Victory is concentrated east of the Truman — that might be a faster route than continuing all the way to Henry.
Also, it’s worth noting that my morning trip to Armstrong via Bull, White Bluff, Abercorn, and Middleground typically takes less than 20 minutes. So I don’t know if it will be worth taking the Truman for that part of the commute.