14 July Avenue

Photograph of July 14 Avenue taken in 2002.

July 14 Avenue (Lurjizean: 14 ივლისის გამზირი, transliterated 14 ivlisis gamziri; Creeperian: Avenida 14 de Julio) is a major urban thoroughfare running through the city of Paluri, Lurjize. Its name honors the results of the 1918 Lurjizean independence referendum declared on July 14, 1918. The avenue runs for approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 mi), connecting Paluri's Simdidrisebi district to the city center and Plaza de San Estefano, and has up to seven lanes in each direction through the city center, not including artery roads on each side. Furthermore, the 14 July bus service line extends along the center of the avenue for approximately 3.5 kilometers (2.2 mi) of a dedicated bus corridor, inaugurated in July 2018 for the centennial of Lurjizean independence.

July 14 Avenue's predecessor was Santa Ana Avenue, which was constructed in the 1600s as part of Creeperian redesign of Paluri to accomodate an increasing colonial population. By the late 19th century, the Avenue was a major artery road in Paluri, connecting the city's commercial center to the wealthy Simdidrisebi district and the city's largest train station, TBDNAME. After Lurjize gained its independence in 1918, the city's newly elected mayor, Avet Patarava, proposed major renovations to Santa Ana Avenue to accommodate the city's growth as well as the automobile, which had been introduced to Lurjize from Creeperopolis. In 1920, the National Congress passed TBDLAW authorizing funding for expanding Santa Ana Avenue to a 33-meter-wide boulevard flanked by two arterial roads. In order to fund the project, Paluri's municipal government announced a sale of land on the outskirts of Simdidrisebi district, hoping to appeal to Creeperian entrepreneurs. Furthermore, it is widely agreed that funds from the sale of TBDSHIP to TBDBUYER were used for the avenue renovations. The city of Paluri began the process of acquiring property for the road's right-of-way. A minor controversy broke out after TBDCREEPERAN accused the government of leading a crusade against Creeperian landowners after Paluri offered to purchase his property for 300,000 Creeperian colóns. However, the city brokered an agreement with him by April 1921, allowing for work to continue. Further settlements with landowners would be reached through 1926.

In September of 1926, TBDCONSTRUCTIONCOMPANY successfully bid for the contract to construct two roundabouts and expand the avenue, and work began. The inaugural phase of the avenue was completed in 1930, while the main stretch of Santa Ana Avenue was finally completed in 1938, by which significant changes had been made to factor in the spread of automobile use in Lurjize and the extinction of the horse buggy as a means of transportation. A crowd of up to 50,000 citizens gathered to witness the opening ceremony of the thoroughfare, during which mayor Baadur Gogoladze officially renamed the road to July 14 Avenue to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lurjizean independence.