Interstate 85 in Georgia

This article is about the section of Interstate 85 in Georgia. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 85.

Interstate 85
Route information
Maintained by Georgia DOT
Length:	179.90 mi (289.52 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-85 at the Alabama state line
	I-185 near LaGrange I-285 in College Park I-75 in Atlanta I-20 in Atlanta I-75 in Atlanta SR 400 in Atlanta I-285 near Doraville SR 316 near Lawrenceville I-985 in Suwanee
North end:	I-85 at the South Carolina state line
Location
Counties:	Harris, Troup, Meriwether, Coweta, Fulton, Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Barrow, Jackson, Banks, Franklin, Hart
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Georgia State Routes Former ← SR 402 SR 404 →

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway that runs northeast–southwest in the U.S. state of Georgia. It exists from the Alabama border near West Point, and Lanett, Alabama, running through Metropolitan Atlanta, and traveling to the border with South Carolina, where it crosses the Savannah River near Lake Hartwell. I-85 connects northern Georgia with Montgomery, Alabama to the southwest, and with South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia to the northeast. Within Georgia, Interstate 85 is also designated as the unsigned State Route 403 (SR 403).

Interstate 85 in Georgia usually runs roughly parallel with the route of U.S. Highway 29. However, from Atlanta northeast to South Carolina, I-85 ventures away from that route, running about half-way between U.S. 29 and the combination of U.S. Highway 23 and U.S. Highway 123.

Within the City of Atlanta, Interstate 85 has a concurrency with Interstate 75 known as the "Downtown Connector".

Route description

Alabama state line to Interstate 185

Interstate 85 under construction near the Alabama state line

Interstate 85 enters Georgia from Alabama via twin bridges over the Chattahoochee River, and then it immediately skirts the town of West Point, with the Kia's multi-billion dollar plant just east West Point. After leaving West Point, I-85 enters the LaGrange area, the first large town in Georgia on its route to the northeast. Northeast of LaGrange, I-85 has an interchange with the long spur freeway, Interstate 185, to the Columbus, Georgia Metropolitan Area. This is the only connection between Columbus and the Interstate Highway System.

From Interstate 185 through Atlanta

From LaGrange, I-85 heads northeastward towards Atlanta. Before reaching Atlanta, the highway drives through a recently widened stretch between exits 28 and 74, passing near the suburbs of Moreland, Newnan, College Park and East Point as well as intersecting Interstate 285 at its southwest end and providing access to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. I-85 then runs along the northwestern boundary of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. (This airport is bounded on all sides by I-85, I-75, and I-285, all of which provide highway access to the airport.)

At the southwestern edge of Atlanta's city limits, I-85 merges with Interstate 75 to form the Downtown Connector, which is 12 to 14 lanes wide. At the southern edge of downtown Atlanta, this freeway has an interchange with the major east-west Interstate Highway, Interstate 20. The two freeways then skirt the eastern edge of downtown, running due north, passing through the Georgia Tech campus and Atlantic Station before the two highways split, with I-75 exits via the right three lanes and then heads northwest while I-85 uses the left three lanes and then heads northeast.

I-75 and I-85 signs near downtown Atlanta

Atlanta to South Carolina state line

Heading northbound after the Brookwood Interchange with I-75, I-85 is routed along a ten lane wide viaduct from the Buford Highway Connector (Exit 86) to Georgia 400 (Exit 87). Continuing northeast of Atlanta, Interstate 85 continues through the northeastern suburbs, bypassing Chamblee and Doraville, where there is another intersection with I-285 (nicknamed Spaghetti Junction). The interstate then travels through the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta, including Lilburn, Duluth, Lawrenceville. The interstate has freeway interchanges with Georgia 316 in Norcross and Interstate 985 in Suwanee, which provides a link to Gainesville. Interstate 85 then leaves the Atlanta area, continuing to travel through rural northeast Georgia. At Lake Hartwell - which was formed by the damming of the Savannah River - I-85 crosses into South Carolina.

Express Lanes

Interstate 85 has the the first and only express/HOT lanes in Georgia, located in Gwinnett and Dekalb counties; they were originally HOV lanes. From Chamblee-Tucker Road (exit 94) to Old Peachtree Road (exit 109); travelers that utilize the converted 15.5-mile (24.9 km) lanes will be charged a varying toll (from 10-90 cents per mile), depending on traffic conditions and usage. Though not signed on the freeway, they are HOT lanes, which means travelers with three or more occupants, vanpools, motorcycles, and buses are exempt from toll charges. Tolls are collected using an electronic toll collection system. All travelers that use the lane must have a Peach Pass sticker to avoid fines.

Funds generated from the express lanes will be used to defray the costs of construction, operations and maintenance of the lanes. Long term revenue allocation is being studied and a decision about future excess revenues will be made later in the project process.

Proponents for the for the express lanes say it is to provide commuters with a more reliable, free-flow commute option; complement the state’s multi-modal approach to managing traffic demand; and establish the vision for a future system of HOT lanes in the region. Detractors point out that existing infrastructure was reused for the express lanes and that commute times on the non-paying travel lanes have doubled since implementation.

Auxiliary routes

• Interstate 185 is a spur from near LaGrange south to Columbus.
• Interstate 285 is the busy beltway around Atlanta.
• Interstate 485 was to run east and north from downtown Atlanta to the south end of State Route 400, and then north along SR 400 to I-285.
• Interstate 985 is a spur from near Buford northeast to Gainesville.

History

Interstate 75 co-signed with Interstate 85 in downtown Atlanta

Originally constructed as a four to six lane expressway in the 1950s, the stretch of I-85 between the southern merge with I-75 and North Druid Hills Road was reconstructed as part of the Georgia Department of Transportation's Freeing the Freeways program. This project included rebuilding all overpasses, new HOV-ready ramps (with the system implemented in 1996), and a widening of freeway capacity. Concurrent with this project was the construction of the Civic Center MARTA Station as part of the West Peachtree Street overpass, which opened in December 1981.

The portion of the highway from the Buford Highway Connector to GA 400 was constructed during the early 1980s, and was designed as a replacement for the original four-lane routing of I-85 (now GA 13). In addition, the new viaduct was designed to accommodate connections to the Georgia 400 tollway (then in planning), HOV lanes, and a bridge carrying the MARTA North Line (then under construction).

Until 2000, the state of Georgia used the sequential interchange numbering system on all of its Interstate Highways. The first exit on each highway would begin with the number "1" and increase numerically with each exit. In 2000, the Georgia Department of Transportation switched to a mileage-based exit system, in which the exit number corresponded to the nearest milepost.

On October 1, 2011, GDOT converted the 16.0-mile (25.7 km) HOV lanes in Northern Atlanta into express/HOT lanes.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Harris	No major junctions
Troup	West Point		1	2	SR 18 – West Point, Pine Mountain
				6	KIA Blvd	To KIA Car Plant
			2	13	SR 219 – LaGrange
	LaGrange		3	14	US 27 / SR 1 – LaGrange	SR 1 is unsigned with US 27
			4	18	SR 109 – Greenville, Warm Springs
			5	21	I-185 south – Columbus	To Fort Benning
			6	28	SR 54 / SR 100 – Hogansville
Coweta	Grantville		7	35	US 29 / SR 14 – Grantville, Moreland	SR 14 is unsigned with US 29
	Newnan		8	41	US 27 Alt. / US 29 / SR 14 – Newnan	To SR 16
					Poplar Road	Exit scheduled for completion in 2013; to SR 16/SR 34/SR 154 and the future Piedmont Newnan Hospital
			9	47	SR 34 – Newnan, Peachtree City	To business district
			10	51	SR 154 (McCollum-Sharpsburg Road)
			11	56	Collinsworth Road, Palmetto, Tyrone
Fulton	Fairburn		12	61	SR 74 – Fairburn
	Union City		13	64	SR 138 – Union City, Jonesboro
			14	66	Flat Shoals Road
			15	68	I-285 (Atlanta Bypass) – Chattanooga, Tampa, Macon, Augusta, Birmingham	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; Split into I-285 north (Birmingham, Chattanooga) and I-285 east (Macon, Tampa)
			16A	69A	SR 14 Spur (South Fulton Parkway)
	College Park		16B	69B	SR 279 (Old National Highway)
			17	70	I-285, Augusta, Birmingham, Chattanooga	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Clayton			18	71	SR 139 (Riverdale Road) – Atl Airport
Fulton	College Park		18A	72	Camp Creek Parkway – Air Cargo, Atl Airport	Unsigned SR 6
	East Point		19	73	Virginia Avenue	Signed as exits 73A (east) and 73B (west) northbound
			20	74	Loop Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Hapeville		21	75	Sylvan Road, Central Avenue – Hapeville
	Atlanta		22	76	Cleveland Avenue	To Atlanta Technical College
			23	77	US 19 / US 41 / SR 3 (Metropolitan Parkway)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			24	77	SR 166 (Langford Parkway)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			87	242	I-75 south – Macon, Tampa	Southern end of I-75 concurrency along the Downtown Connector; freeway uses I-75 mileposts and exit numbers; HOV lanes to and from I-75 to the south (no HOV ramps to or from I-85 to the south)
			88	243	SR 166 (Langford Parkway) – East Point
			89	244	University Avenue, Pryor Street
			90	245	Abernathy Boulevard, Capitol Avenue – Turner Field	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			91	246	Fulton Street, Central Avenue – Downtown
			92	247	I-20 (Ralph D. Abernathy Freeway) – Augusta, Birmingham
			—	—	Memorial Drive	HOV ramps for northbound exit and southbound entrance
			93	248A	Martin Luther King Jr. Drive – State Capitol	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			94	248B	Edgewood Avenue, Auburn Avenue, J.W. Dobbs Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			96	248C	SR 10 east (Freedom Parkway) / Andrew Young International Boulevard – Carter Center
			95	248D	J.W. Dobbs Avenue, Edgewood Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			—	—	Piedmont Avenue	HOV ramps for northbound exit and southbound entrance
			97	249A	Courtland Street – Georgia State University	Southbound exit only
			98	249B	Pine Street, Peachtree Street – Civic Center	Northbound exit only
			99	249C	Williams Street – Georgia World Congress Center, Georgia Dome	No northbound exit; additional HOV ramps for southbound exit and northbound entrance
			100	249D	Spring Street, West Peachtree Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			100	249D	US 29 / US 78 / US 278 / SR 8 (North Avenue) – Georgia Tech	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			101	250	10th Street, 14th Street – Georgia Tech	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				251A	17th Street – Midtown	Northbound exit only
			26	84	17th Street, 14th Street, 10th Street	Southbound exit only, to Georgia Tech
			27	85	I-75 north – Marietta, Chattanooga	Northern end of I-75 concurrency along the Downtown Connector
			28	86	SR 13 north (Buford Highway)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			—	—	Lindbergh Drive	HOV-only ramps; southbound exit and northbound entrance
			29	87	SR 400 north – Buckhead, Cumming	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			28	86	SR 13 south (Peachtree Street)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			30	88	Cheshire Bridge Road, Lenox Road, To SR 400	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Dekalb			31	89	SR 42 (North Druid Hills road)	To Oglethorpe University
			32	91	US 23 / SR 155 (Clairmont Road), Decatur	To DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and Emory University
			33	93	Shallowford Road, Doraville	To Briarcliff Road
			34	94	Chamblee-Tucker Road, Mercer University
			35	95	I-285 – Augusta, Macon, Chattanooga, Birmingham	Signed as exits 95A (east – Macon, Augusta) and 95B (west – Chattanooga, Birmingham) southbound
			36	96	Northcrest Road, Pleasantdale Road
Gwinnett	Norcross		37	99	SR 140 west (Jimmy Carter Boulevard)
			38	101	Indian Trail-Lilburn Road
			39	102	SR 378 (Beaver Ruin Road) – Lilburn
			39A	103	Steve Reynolds Boulevard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
			40	104	Pleasant Hill Road	Gwinnett Place Mall
			42	105	SR 120 – Duluth, Lawrenceville	Northbound exit only
			41	106	SR 316 east – Lawrenceville, Athens	No southbound exit; additional northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps for direct HOV lane access
			42	107	SR 120 to SR 316 – Duluth, Lawrenceville	Southbound exit only
				108	Sugarloaf Parkway	Southbound exit is combined with exit 109
			43	109	Old Peachtree Road
			44	111	SR 317 north – Suwanee
			45	113	I-985 north – Gainesville	Northbound exit and southbound entrance, to Buford Dam and Lake Lanier Islands
			46	115	SR 20 – Lawrenceville, Buford	Mall of Georgia
			47	120	Hamilton Mill Road, Hamilton Mill Parkway
Barrow			48	126	SR 211 – Chestnut Mountain, Winder
Jackson	Braselton		49	129	SR 53 – Braselton, Hoschton, Winder
	Jefferson		50	137	US 129 / SR 11 – Gainesville, Jefferson
			51	140	SR 82 (Dry Pond Road, Holly Springs Road)
	Commerce		52	147	SR 98 – Commerce, Maysville
Banks			53	149	US 441 – Commerce, Homer, Banks Crossing
			54	154	SR 63 (Martin Bridge Road) – Toccoa
Franklin			55	160	SR 51 – Homer, Franklin Springs, Royston, Elberton
			56	164	SR 320 – Carnesville
			57	166	SR 106 / SR 145 – Carnesville, Toccoa
	Lavonia		58	173	SR 17 – Lavonia, Toccoa
Hart			59	177	SR 77 – Elberton, Hartwell
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

See also

• Georgia (U.S. state) portal
• U.S. Roads portal

External links

• Media related to Interstate 85 in Georgia at Wikimedia Commons

Interstate 85
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