Green Infrastructure

Let's Use the Right-Of-Way in a Smarter Way

Right-of-way farming joins a bevy of sustainable initiatives along the Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway in Georgia
Dec 5, 2017 10:30 AM ET
Campaign: The Ray
The Ray, a 18-mile-long stretch of highway that's trying its hardest to mitigate all the ill effects associated with highway travel, is getting a 1,000-square-foot demonstration wheat farm along its shoulder.

Originally published by Mother Nature Network

By Matt Hickman

Having a stretch of highway named in your honor is a big deal.

But the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation dedicated to realizing the legacy of the late green business pioneer, has opted to take the highway memorization process one giant step further.

This difference should be apparent to anyone who has ever traveled along Georgia's Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway or, simply, The Ray. Not only has this 18-mile-long segment of Interstate 85 in rural Troup County boasted Anderson’s name since June 2014, it also functions as a self-described proving ground for cutting-edge sustainable technologies that aim to change with way we interact with major transportation corridors. For starters, there are solar-powered electric vehicle charging stations, beautifying bioswales and a 7,000-square-foot pollinator garden.

Read the full story.