Interstate 75 (I-75) in the US state of Georgia travels north–south along the U.S. Route 41 (US 41) corridor in the central part of the state, traveling through the cities of Valdosta, Macon, and Atlanta. It is also designated—but not signed—as State Route 401 (SR 401).
I-75 is the only Interstate to traverse the full length of the state from north to south, from the flat Atlantic Coastal Plains in southeast Georgia to the rolling mountains of North Georgia. In Downtown Atlanta, I-75 runs concurrently with I-85 as the Downtown Connector. The segment from SR 49 in Byron to I-16 in Macon is part of the Fall Line Freeway and may be incorporated into the eastern extension of I-14, which is currently entirely within Central Texas and is proposed to be extended to Augusta.
What would become the general routing of I-75 in Georgia was initially used by the western routing of the Dixie Highway beginning in 1916. Established in 1926, the Interstate's direct predecessor in Georgia is US 41, a national highway that has been largely supplanted in favor of the federally-funded freeway built under the Interstate Highway System—though limited-access elements of the Interstate existed as early as 1951. The last section of I-75, located in Georgia, opened in 1977.
Route description With a length of , I-75 is the longest Interstate Highway in Georgia. It enters the state near Valdosta, and it continues northward through the towns of Tifton and Cordele until it reaches the Macon area, where it intersects with I-16 eastbound toward Savannah. For northbound traffic, I-475 provides a relatively straight bypass west of that city and I-75's route.
After Macon, I-75 passes the small town of Forsyth. The freeway reaches no major junctions again until in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The first metropolitan freeway met is I-675, then followed by the Atlanta "Perimeter" bypass, I-285. It crosses inside the Perimeter and heads north several miles toward the Atlanta city center. I-75 then runs concurrently with I-85 due north over the Downtown Connector through the central business district of Atlanta. The two Interstates intersect I-20 in downtown. Several miles north of the I-20 interchange, the two Interstates split, I-75 heads in a general northwest direction while I-85 heads northeast, crossing outside the I-285 Perimeter and heading toward the major suburban city of Marietta. This section of I-75 just north of I-285 has 16 through lanes, making it the widest roadway anywhere in the Interstate Highway System. North of Marietta, the final major junction in the Atlanta metropolitan area is the I-575 spur. I-75 then traverses the hilly North Georgia terrain as it travels toward Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The section of I-75 from the northern I-475 intersection to the US 11/US 64 intersection in Ooltewah, Tennessee, is one of the longest continuous multi-state six-lane freeways in the US (some segments along this corridor have as many as 16 lanes).
Due to recent lane widening in southern Georgia completed in 2011, the only four-lane section of I-75 in Georgia is bypassed by six-lane I-475; along this route, there are at least six lanes from the Alligator Alley portion of I-75 in Naples, Florida, to a portion of I-75 in Ooltewah (except a four-lane overpass on I-475 over a railroad track in Macon).
I-75 is the only Interstate to traverse the full length of the state from north to south. The entire length of I-75 in Georgia is part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.
Services The Georgia Department of Transportation operates two welcome centers at both ends of Interstate 75 and nine rest areas, the most of any interstate highway within the state. The northbound welcome center is located between exits 2 and 5 Georgia Visitor Information Center - Valdosta The southbound welcome center is located between exits 353 and 350.Georgia Visitor Information Center - Ringgold The other rest areas include two in Cook County, two in Turner County, two in Dooly County, one southbound rest area in Monroe County, and two in Gordon County.Rest Areas (Georgia Department of Transportation)
History
Early national highways The general routing of I-75 within Georgia was originally developed as the western routing of the Dixie Highway. The western route of the Dixie Highway as designated in 1916, followed present-day US 41 south from the Tennessee border through Atlanta and Macon south to Echeconnee, Georgia. The section that would become US 41, I-75's direct predecessor, from Echeconnee south through Perry and Valdosta to the border with Florida was paved beginning in 1919 and was later designated as a part of the Dixie Highway in 1924. In 1926, the western route of the Dixie Highway following the newer Perry and Valdosta route was officially designated as US 41. By October 1929, the majority of US 41 was paved in Georgia, the only sections that were not paved at that point were between Fort Oglethorpe and Ringgold, and another on the south side of Calhoun.
1950s
The first section of the highway that would eventually become I-75 in Georgia were portions of the Downtown Connector that were integrated into the Interstate Highway System. The first section, located between Williams Street and the Brookwood Interchange, began construction in September 1948 and opened on September 25, 1951. By late 1953, this expressway was signed as US 19/US 41 as far north as Lakewood Avenue. It was also under construction to Howell Mill Road, and proposed from this road to the northwest part of Atlanta. By mid-1954, the expressway was signed as SR 295 from Lakewood Avenue to University Avenue. It was under construction from the Downtown Connector to US 41/SR 3E, just north of West Paces Ferry Road. By mid-1955, the highway was under construction from University Avenue to Glenn Street. It was open from Williams Street to US 41/SR 3E in the central part of Atlanta. A section between University Avenue and Richardson Street began in March 1955 and was dedicated and opened on July 25, 1957. The stretch from Piedmont Avenue to Williams Street opened on May 5, 1959. On October 9, 1959, a section in Turner and Tift Counties was dedicated and opened to traffic by Governor Ernest Vandiver. At the ceremony, Vandiver also unveiled the first Interstate Highway shield used in Georgia.
1960s On September 21, 1962, two separate sections totalling from US 84/221 in Valdosta to Ashburn, and from Hahira to Unadillaopened to traffic. On July 15, 1963, the section between Florida State Road 6 near Jasper, Florida, and US 84/US 221 was jointly opened to traffic in a dedication ceremony at the state line by Georgia Governor Carl Sanders and Florida Governor C. Farris Bryant. This completed I-75 from the state line to US 41/SR 7 in Unadilla. On May 27, 1964, the section between Unadilla and Perry opened to traffic. The final stretch of the Downtown Connector, between Richardson Street and Piedmont Avenue, including the interchange with I-20, opened on September 18, 1964. On December 8, 1964, the state announced the opening of the section between SR 53 in Calhoun and US 41 south of Dalton. The section between US 41/76 in Dalton and the Tennessee state line was announced to have been opened two days later. In 1966, the highway was open from the Florida state line to its southern interchange with I-475 near Macon. It was open from I-16 to US 23/SR 42 near Forsyth. It was open from Forest Park to its northern interchange with I-285. The section between SR 140 in Adairsville and SR 53 in Calhoun opened on December 7, 1966. The section between I-285 and SR 120 in Marietta opened in January 1967. On March 6, 1967, the short stretch in Macon between I-16 and SR 247 (Pierce Avenue), along with a short stretch of I-16 extending to Main Street, was dedicated and opened to traffic. The section from SR 247 in Macon and Bolingbroke was completed in late April 1967. The segment in Marietta between SR 120 and Allgood Road was completed and opened on August 14, 1968. The section between US 23/SR 42 near Forsyth and SR 20 in McDonough opened on November 18, 1968. The section from SR 20 in McDonough to SR 54 in Morrow opened on October 15, 1969, completing I-75 between Macon and Atlanta. It was under construction from US 411/SR 61 near Cartersville to SR 140 in Adairsville. In 1969, the highway was under construction from its southern interchange with I-475 to I-16 in Macon. It was open from I-16 to Allgood Road in Marietta.
1970s
The southbound lanes of the stretch between US 411 in Cartersville and SR 140 in Adairsville opened on September 1, 1971. The remainder of this stretch was opened to traffic and dedicated by Governor Jimmy Carter and state highway director Bert Lance on September 30, 1971. Construction on the section between the southern interchange with I-475 and US 80/SR 22 in Macon began on May 7, 1969, and was dedicated and opened to traffic on November 24, 1971. In 1971, it was open from the Florida state line to Allgood Road in Marietta. In 1973, it was under construction from Marietta to SR 92 in Acworth. The section between Allgood Road and Barrett Parkway (then Roberts Road) in Marietta opened on November 27, 1974, eliminating one of the worst bottlenecks on US 41. That year, the highway was under construction from Emerson to US 411/SR 61 near Cartersville. The last segment of I-75 in Georgia, located between Barrett Parkway in Marietta and US 411 in Cartersville, was dedicated and opened on December 21, 1977.
Since completion
Much of the work to widen interstates across Atlanta including I-75 from six to eight lanes and the Downtown Connector to 10 lanes including the elimination of sharp curves and grades, left-hand exits, excessive interchanges, and short acceleration/deceleration lanes, took place in the 1980s. Construction began with widening I-285 first, beginning in 1976, continued to the radiating expressways, and concluded with the depressed sections of the Downtown Connector which were completed in 1988. I-75 widening from I-285 and Aviation Boulevard to the Downtown Connector was completed by late 1984. I-75 widening from the Brookwood Interchange to the Chattahoochee River and Cobb County line was widened in the early 1980s and completed by 1985. Work on the Downtown Connector portion began in 1984, and included redesigning the massive interchange between I-20 and I-75/I-85 and the design and construction of 55 bridges over the connector portion alone. The project was completed in November 1988.
In addition to the general-purpose lanes added in the 1980s, provisions for high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) and dedicated onramps at Williams Street, Piedmont Avenue, and Memorial Drive were built and were subsequently converted to HOV usage in 1996 on the Downtown Connector. In 1996, HOV lanes were also added from I-285 on the south side of Atlanta to I-285 on the north side of Atlanta.
In 1998, the portion of I-75 that from the Chattahoochee River north to the Tennessee state line was named the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway. Larry McDonald, a conservative Democratic representative to Congress, was aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by the Soviet Union on September 1, 1983. He was the only sitting Congressperson to be reportedly killed by the Soviets during the Cold War. I-75 was also designated as the Horace E. Tate Freeway between I-85 to I-285 northwest of Downtown Atlanta, in honor of Horace Tate, who was a state senator in 1974.
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 (GDOT) switched to a mileage-based exit system, in which the exit number corresponded to the nearest milepost.