'Garden Parkway' To Be Renamed 'Billy Graham Parkway'

A proposed toll road through Gaston County got a boost this week when the N.C. Turnpike Authority endorsed the project along with three others. The so-called "Garden Parkway" would connect a 20-mile stretch between I-485 (near the Charlotte/Douglas Airport) to I-85 in Gastonia. Some have suggested the name of the toll road be changed from "Garden Parkway" to "Billy Graham Parkway," in honor of the world-famous evangelist and North Carolina's favorite son. "I know there's a 'Billy Graham Parkway' in Charlotte already, but that's no big deal," said John Culbertson, a Turnpike Authority board member. "We've got lots of roads around here that have the same name. In fact, we kind of enjoy naming different roads the same thing whenever we can."