With the exception of 7 Saturdays a year, there is no reason what so ever to drive in this area. And yest developers have built student apartments along this corridor. There is no way I'd allow my students to live there.
Oh, why is this OK on 7 Saturdays a year? The University of South Carolina's football stadium is at the northern edge of this corridor, and the area is crawling with cops on those days.
I used work at SCETV on George Rogers Blvd and I never liked the last few miles in using either road.