Interstate 85 in Georgia

This article is about the current Interstate Highway. For the current state highway, see Georgia State Route 85.

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

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway that travels northeast–southwest in the US state of Georgia. It enters the state at the Alabama state line near West Point, and Lanett, Alabama, traveling through the Atlanta metropolitan area and to the South Carolina state line, where it crosses the Savannah River near Lake Hartwell. I-85 connects North Georgia with Montgomery, Alabama, to the southwest, and with South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia to the northeast. Within Georgia, I-85 is also designated as the unsigned State Route 403 (SR 403).

Interstate 85
I-85 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by GDOT
Length	179.90 mi (289.52 km)
Existed	1960–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-85 at the Alabama state line
Major intersections	I-185 near LaGrange I-285 / SR 14 Conn. / SR 279 in College Park I-75 through Atlanta I-20 in Atlanta SR 400 in Atlanta I-285 near Norcross SR 316 near Lawrenceville I-985 in Suwanee
North end	I-85 at the South Carolina state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Counties	Harris, Troup, Meriwether, Coweta, Fulton, Clayton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Barrow, Jackson, Banks, Franklin, Hart
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Georgia State Highway System Interstate US State Special
← SR 84 → SR 85
← SR 402 SR 403 → SR 404

I-85 in Georgia usually travels roughly parallel with the route of US Route 29 (US 29). However, from Atlanta northeast to South Carolina, I-85 ventures away from that route, traveling about halfway between US 29 and the combination of US 23 and US 123.

Within the city of Atlanta, I-85 has a concurrency with I-75 known as the "Downtown Connector". After splitting from Downtown Connector, it is known as Northeast Expressway until its junction with I-285 (The Perimeter).

Route description

Alabama state line to I-185

I-85 undergoing repairs near the Alabama state line

I-85 enters the state of Georgia from Alabama via twin bridges over the Chattahoochee River, and then it immediately skirts the town of West Point, with Kia's multibillion-dollar plant located adjacent to the freeway just east of 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, I-185, to the Columbus metropolitan area. This is the only connection between Columbus and the Interstate Highway System.

An 18-mile (29 km) stretch between the Alabama line and exit 18 in LaGrange is serving as an environmental and technological testbed for a project called The Ray, a partnership involving federal and state officials, the private sector, academia and philanthropic organizations. Among the projects are a solar-paved roadway, enhanced road striping for autonomous vehicles, and plantings along the right-of-way to improve runoff and possibly serve as a harvestable crop.

From I-185 through Atlanta

Interstate 75 and 85 co-signed on the Downtown Connector in Atlanta

From LaGrange, I-85 heads northeastward toward Atlanta. Before reaching Atlanta, the highway crosses the CSX Transportation A&WP Subdivision twice (in the Grantville area) and passes through the suburbs of Moreland, Newnan, Fairburn, and Union City. The highway then intersects I-285 at its southwest end in College Park. This interchange is one of the most complex interchanges in the country, as I-285 and I-85 stay side by side through the interchange, which actually has two parts. The interchange also features many other, less important local access roads at the same time; meanwhile providing access to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. I-85 then runs along the northwestern boundary of the airport in East Point, providing access to the domestic terminal.

At the southwestern edge of Atlanta's city limits, I-85 merges with I-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, I-20. The two freeways then skirt the eastern edge of downtown, running due north, passing through the Georgia Tech campus and the Atlantic Station section of Atlanta 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.

Atlanta to South Carolina state line

Interstate 85 in Gwinnett County

Heading northbound after the Brookwood Interchange with I-75, I-85 is routed along a 10-lane-wide viaduct from the Buford Highway Connector (exit 86) to SR 400 (exit 87). Continuing northeast of Atlanta, I-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, and Buford. The Interstate has freeway interchanges with SR 316 in Duluth and I-985 in Suwanee, which provides a link to Gainesville. Satellite Boulevard within Gwinnett County parallels I-85 to the west as an arterial frontage road.

I-85 eventually leaves the Atlanta metropolitan area and narrows down to four lanes (two in each direction) past exit 129 as the highway continues into the rural parts of northeast Georgia. At Lake Hartwell, which was formed by the damming of the Savannah River, I-85 crosses the Savannah River into South Carolina.

Express lanes

The I-85 Express Lane north extension at Interstate 985

I-85 has the first express lanes in Georgia, located in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties; they were originally high-occupancy vehicle lanes (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 toll varying from 10 to 90 cents per mile (6.2–55.9 ¢/km), depending on traffic conditions and usage. Though not signed on the freeway, they are high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT lanes), which means registered transport vehicles, carpools with three or more occupants, motorcycles, and busses are exempt from toll charges as long as they are registered as such. Tolls are collected using an electronic toll collection system. All travelers that use the lane must have a Peach Pass sticker to avoid fines. Starting in November 2014, SunPass (Florida) and NC Quick Pass (North Carolina) are interoperable with Peach Pass, allowing motorists with those transponders to use the express lanes.

On November 3, 2018, an extension to the express lanes opened, from its former ending at Old Peachtree Road to Hamilton Mill Road (exit 120). After this extension, four more northbound exit points were added: at SR 317 (exit 111), I-985 (exit 113), SR 20 (exit 115), and at its end at Hamilton Mill Road (exit 120). In addition, four new access points were added to the southbound express lanes: at SR 20, SR 317, Old Peachtree Road, and at the connection to the preexisting express lanes. The project costed $178 million (equivalent to $213 million in 2023). The express lanes extension will incur a separate charge from the existing express lanes. This is to decrease the impact of high congestion on the existing express lanes on the dynamic pricing of the express lanes extension, since lower congestion is expected on the new extension of the express lanes.

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 express lanes say it is to provide commuters with a more reliable, free-flow commute option; complement the state's multimodal 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 nonpaying travel lanes have doubled since implementation.

History

Aerial view of exit 149 at Commerce, Georgia, 1966

I-75 co-signed with I-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 (GDOT)'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 station as part of the West Peachtree Street overpass, which opened in December 1981.

The 30-mile (48 km) section between LaGrange and Newnan was incomplete for a much-longer time that the rest of I-85 in Georgia and required a two-lane detour on US 27 and US 29 between those cities. The northern section between Newnan and Grantville was completed first, then the stretch further south to LaGrange was completed in 1977.

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

Until 2000, the state of Georgia used the sequential exit 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, GDOT 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-mile (26 km) HOV lanes in northern Atlanta into express/HOT lanes.

From Atlanta, I-85 north was originally slated to be built through the city of Athens to provide an easy link between the capital city and the University of Georgia. However, then-Governor Ernest Vandiver worked to make sure the highway traversed his home county of Franklin, a stretch that now bears his name. At the time, he promised equivalent access for Athens and Gainesville. It was not until the completion of SR 316 in the 1990s that there was finally a relatively quick, multilane expressway connecting Athens and Atlanta, (US 78 is also multilane between Athens and Atlanta but it is not expressway-grade) although SR 316 still is largely at-grade.

On March 30, 2017, a fire started at approximately 6:15 pm in a storage area under the highway along Piedmont Road in the Piedmont Heights area of Midtown Atlanta. This caused the collapse of a 100-foot (30 m) section of I-85 northbound. The highway in both directions needed to be demolished and replaced. According to GDOT, the work was completed ahead of schedule. Both the north and south bound portions of the Interstate were open by May 15, 2017, a month ahead of expectations.

Future

In May 2017, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners voted to accept about $6 million (equivalent to $7.34 million in 2023) in federal funds, to be used to acquire land to build a new diamond interchange on I-85 at SR 324/Gravel Springs Road. The new exit will be located between exit 115, for SR 20, and exit 120, for Hamilton Mill Road/Hamilton Mill Parkway. The board voted in July 2019 to accept about $20 million (equivalent to $23.5 million in 2023) in federal and state grants to pay for the construction of the new interchange. E.R. Snell Contractors will complete the work. Since an overpass already exists for SR 324, on- and offramps, I-85 deceleration lanes, traffic signals, and turn lanes are the main aspects of the interchange to be added. The main goal for the new interchange is to provide another access point from I-85 to Mall of Georgia. Construction of the interchange started in early 2018 and finished in November 22nd, 2021.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Harris	​	0.00	0.00			I-85 south – Lanett, Montgomery	Continuation into Alabama over the Chattahoochee River
Troup	West Point	2.25	3.62	1	2	SR 18 – West Point, Pine Mountain
	​	6.52	10.49		6	KIA Boulevard	Kia Car Plant
	​	13.01	20.94	2	13	SR 219 – LaGrange	To Pegasus Parkway, an industrial and recreational bypass around Downtown LaGrange
	LaGrange	14.25	22.93	3	14	US 27 (SR 1) – LaGrange
		18.12	29.16	4	18	SR 109 – Greenville, Warm Springs, LaGrange
	​	19.70– 20.08	31.70– 32.32	5	21	I-185 south (SR 411) – Columbus	To Fort Moore
	Hogansville	28.35	45.62	6	28	SR 54 / SR 100 – Hogansville, Luthersville
Meriwether	No major junctions
Coweta	Grantville	35.24	56.71	7	35	US 29 (SR 14) – Grantville, Moreland
	Newnan	41.22	66.34	8	41	US 27 Alt. / US 29 – Newnan, Moreland, Greenville	To SR 16
		44.02	70.84		44	Poplar Road	Provides direct access to Piedmont Newnan Hospital
		46.68	75.12	9	47	SR 34 – Newnan, Peachtree City, Shenandoah	To business district
	​	51.28	82.53	10	51	SR 154 (McCollum-Sharpsburg Road)
	​	56.37	90.72	11	56	Collinsworth Road – Palmetto, Tyrone
Fulton	Fairburn	61.26	98.59	12	61	SR 74 – Fairburn, Peachtree City
	Union City	64.17	103.27	13	64	SR 138 – Union City, Jonesboro
	College Park	65.86	105.99	14	66	Flat Shoals Road	To Georgia Military College
	​	68.77– 69.02	110.67– 111.08	15	68	I-285 (Atlanta Bypass / SR 407) – Birmingham, Chattanooga, International Terminal, Macon	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; split into I-285 north (Birmingham, Chattanooga) and I-285 east (International Terminal, Macon); temporary detour route to I-85 north
	​	69.14	111.27	16A	69A	SR 14 Conn. (South Fulton Parkway)
	College Park	69.61	112.03	16B	69B	SR 279 (Old National Highway)
		70.30	113.14	17	70	I-285 (Atlanta Bypass / SR 407) – Macon, Birmingham, Chattanooga	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; to International Terminal
Clayton	​	71.05	114.34	18	71	SR 139 (Riverdale Road) – Domestic
Fulton	College Park	72.27– 72.61	116.31– 116.85	18A	72	To SR 6 west (Camp Creek Parkway) – Air Cargo, Domestic
	East Point	73.72	118.64	19	73	Virginia Avenue – Air Cargo, College Park	Signed as exits 73A (east) and 73B (west) northbound
		74.03	119.14	20	74	Loop Road – International	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Hapeville	74.57	120.01	21	75	Sylvan Road / Central Avenue – Hapeville
	Atlanta	75.78	121.96	22	76	Cleveland Avenue – East Point	To Atlanta Technical College
		76.08	122.44	23	77	US 19 / US 41 / SR 3 (Metropolitan Parkway)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		76.70	123.44	24	77	SR 166 (Langford Parkway)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				87		I-75 south (SR 401) – International, Macon	Southern end of I-75/SR 295 concurrency along the Downtown Connector; southern terminus of SR 295; 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).
				—	—	I-75 / I-85 north (HOV lanes)	Southern terminus of HOV3+/toll lanes
		77.30	124.40	88	243	SR 166 (Langford Parkway) – East Point
		79.14	127.36	89	244	University Avenue / Pryor Street
		80.19	129.05	90	245	Abernathy Boulevard / Capitol Avenue – Georgia State Stadium	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		80.54	129.62	91	246	Fulton Street / Central Avenue – Georgia State University, Georgia State Stadium
		80.78	130.00	92	247	I-20 (Ralph D. Abernathy Freeway / SR 402) – Augusta, Birmingham
		81.00	130.36	—	—	Memorial Drive	HOV ramps for northbound exit and southbound entrance
		81.16	130.61	93	248A	ML King Jr. Drive – State Capitol, Georgia State Stadium	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		81.74	131.55	94	248B	Edgewood Avenue, Auburn Avenue, J.W. Dobbs Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		82.11	132.14	96	248C	SR 10 east (Freedom Parkway) / Andrew Young International Boulevard – Carter Center	Western terminus of SR 10
		81.97	131.92	95	248D	Jesse Hill Drive, J.W. Dobbs Avenue, Edgewood Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		82.00	131.97	—	—	Piedmont	HOV ramps for northbound exit and southbound entrance
		82.53	132.82	97	249A	Courtland Street – Georgia State University	Southbound exit only
		82.79	133.24	98	249B	Pine Street, Peachtree Street – Civic Center	Northbound exit only
		82.98	133.54	99	249C	Williams Street – World Congress Center, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Aquarium	No northbound exit; additional HOV ramps for southbound exit and northbound entrance
				100	249D	To US 19 / US 29 (Spring Street / West Peachtree Street)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		83.18	133.87	100	249D	To US 29 / US 78 / US 278 / SR 8 (North Avenue) – Georgia Tech	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		83.89– 84.24	135.01– 135.57	101	250	10th Street, 14th Street – Georgia Tech	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		84.58	136.12		251A	17th Street – Midtown	Northbound exit only
				26	84	17th Street, 14th Street, 10th Street	Southbound exit only, to Georgia Tech
		84.92	136.67	27	85	I-75 north (SR 401) – Marietta, Chattanooga	Northern end of I-75/SR 295 concurrency along the Downtown Connector; southern terminus of SR 295
		85.92	138.27	28	86	SR 13 north (Buford Hwy)	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of SR 13
		86.00	138.40	—	—	Lindbergh Drive	HOV-only ramps; southbound exit and northbound entrance
		86.92– 87.68	139.88– 141.11	29	87	SR 400 north / Piedmont Avenue – Buckhead, Cumming	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of SR 400
		87.77	141.25	28	86	SR 400 north / SR 13 south – Buckhead, Cumming, to Peachtree Street	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern terminus of SR 400
		88.11	141.80	30	88	Cheshire Bridge Road / Lenox Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
DeKalb	Brookhaven	89.23	143.60	31	89	SR 42 (North Druid Hills Road)	To Oglethorpe University
	​	90.65	145.89	32	91	US 23 / SR 155 (Clairmont Road)	To DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and Emory University
	Doraville	92.91	149.52	33	93	Shallowford Road – Doraville	To Briarcliff Road
	Chamblee	94.26	151.70	34	94	Chamblee–Tucker Road, Mercer University
	​	95.46	153.63	35	95	I-285 (Atlanta Bypass / SR 407) – Augusta, Macon, Chattanooga, Birmingham	Signed as exits 95A (east, Macon, Augusta) and 95B (west, Chattanooga, Birmingham) southbound
	​	96.06	154.59	36	96	Northcrest Road / Pleasantdale Road
Gwinnett	Norcross	98.80	159.00	37	99	SR 140 west (Jimmy Carter Boulevard)	Eastern terminus of SR 140
		100.94	162.45	38	101	Indian Trail–Lilburn Road
	​	102.06	164.25	39	102	SR 378 (Beaver Ruin Road) – Lilburn
	​	103.56	166.66	39A	103	Steve Reynolds Boulevard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	​	104.07	167.48	40	104	Pleasant Hill Road	Gwinnett Place Mall; To Ronald Reagan Parkway
	​	105.98	170.56	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 HOT/express lane access; western terminus of SR 316
	​	107.03	172.25	42	107	SR 120 to SR 316 east / Boggs Road – Duluth, Lawrenceville	Southbound exit only
	​	107.84	173.55		108	Sugarloaf Parkway	Southbound exit is combined with exit 109.
	​	108.96	175.35	43	109	Old Peachtree Road
	​	111.46	179.38	44	111	SR 317 north – Suwanee	Southern terminus of SR 317
	​	112.96	181.79	45	113	I-985 north (SR 365/SR 419) – Gainesville	Northbound exit and southbound entrance, to Buford Dam and Lake Lanier Islands; left exit northbound; southern terminus of I-985/SR 365/SR 419
	​	115.22	185.43	46	115	SR 20 – Lawrenceville, Buford	To Mall of Georgia
	Buford	118.00	189.90	—	118	SR 324 (Gravel Springs Road)	To Mall of Georgia
	​				—	I-85 south (Express Lanes)	Northern terminus of HOV3+/toll lanes
	​	119.81	192.82	47	120	Hamilton Mill Road / Hamilton Mill Parkway
Barrow	Braselton	126.10	202.94	48	126	SR 211 – Winder
Jackson		129.37	208.20	49	129	SR 53 – Braselton, Hoschton, Winder	To Michelin Raceway
	Jefferson	136.60	219.84	50	137	US 129 / SR 11 – Gainesville, Jefferson	To Athens and University of Georgia
		140.41	225.97	51	140	SR 82 (Dry Pond Road / Holly Springs Road)
	Commerce	146.58	235.90	52	147	SR 98 – Commerce, Maysville
Banks		149.32	240.31	53	149	US 441 / SR 15 – Commerce, Homer, Banks Crossing	To University of Georgia
	​	153.74	247.42	54	154	SR 63 (Martin Bridge Road) – Toccoa
Franklin	​	159.82	257.21	55	160	SR 51 – Homer, Franklin Springs, Royston, Elberton
	​	163.87	263.72	56	164	SR 320 – Carnesville
	​	165.91	267.01	57	166	SR 106 / SR 145 – Carnesville, Toccoa
	Lavonia	173.10	278.58	58	173	SR 17 – Lavonia, Toccoa, Elberton
Hart	Lake Hartwell	177.24	285.24	59	177	SR 77 south – Hartwell, Lake Hartwell	Northern terminus of SR 77
	​	179.13	288.28			I-85 north – Greenville, Charlotte	Continuation into South Carolina over the Tugaloo River and Lake Hartwell
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       HOV only       Incomplete access

Auxiliary routes

There are three auxiliary Interstate Highways of I-85 within Georgia and a fourth that was proposed, and then cancelled. I-185 (SR 411) is a spur from LaGrange to Columbus. It mainly provides a freeway between the Columbus and Atlanta metropolitan areas. I-285 (SR 407) is a heavily traveled beltway around Atlanta, which helps I-75 and I-85 drivers to bypass the city. I-485 was a short freeway in Atlanta (now Freedom Parkway) that was incomplete for many years and then decommissioned due to local opposition. I-985 (SR 419) is a spur from I-85 to Gainesville.

See also

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

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 85 in Georgia

KML is from Wikidata

• Media related to Interstate 85 in Georgia (U.S. state) at Wikimedia Commons