Fall Line Freeway
State Route 540 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall Line Freeway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by GDOT | ||||
| Length | 215 mi[1] (346 km) | |||
| Existed | Under construction as of 2010[update]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end | Alabama state line near Columbus | |||
| Macon, Milledgeville | ||||
| East end | South Carolina state line near Augusta | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Georgia | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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The Fall Line Freeway is a highway currently being constructed that will run the width of the state of Georgia from Columbus to Augusta, passing through several cities including Macon and Milledgeville. It will be designated State Route 540 upon completion, and will be a four-lane divided highway, except when following Interstate 75 from Byron to Macon and J. R. Allen Parkway, the bypass around Columbus. Its intention is to create an easier path for freight trucks to carry goods from Columbus to Augusta and vice versa. Much of the route will follow existing Interstate 75 and U.S. 1, while other parts will be newly-constructed roads, some of which, such as the portion from Macon to Sandersville, are currently under construction or have not yet been built.
As of November 2009, approximately 178 miles[1] (83 percent) of the route is open to traffic or under construction, including the entirety of the route between Columbus and Macon. The route will follow U.S. 80 from Columbus eastward to Geneva, S.R. 96 from there to Fort Valley, and S.R. 49 Connector and S.R. 49 to Byron, where it joins Interstate 75. It follows I-75 to Macon, then proceeds east along or near S.R. 57 as far as the Wilkinson County line. The Fall Line Freeway then proceeds northeastward mostly on new roadway until it reaches S.R. 24 just southeast of Milledgeville, and it then follows S.R. 24, S.R. 88, and U.S. 1 to Augusta, ending at Interstate 520.
The Fall Line Freeway, including portions of U.S. 80 is designated to be included in Interstate 14, a proposed future interstate that would run from Interstate 520 in Augusta, Georgia to either Natchez, Mississippi or to Interstate 49 at Alexandria, Louisiana.
