# Interstate 85 in Georgia

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).
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 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

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

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

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

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 | |
| Troup | ​ | 6.52 | 10.49 | | 6 | KIA Boulevard | Kia Car Plant |
| Troup | ​ | 13.01 | 20.94 | 2 | 13 | SR 219 – LaGrange | To Pegasus Parkway, an industrial and recreational bypass around Downtown LaGrange |
| Troup | LaGrange | 14.25 | 22.93 | 3 | 14 | US 27 (SR 1) – LaGrange | |
| Troup | LaGrange | 18.12 | 29.16 | 4 | 18 | SR 109 – Greenville, Warm Springs, LaGrange | |
| Troup | ​ | 19.70– 20.08 | 31.70– 32.32 | 5 | 21 | I-185 south (SR 411) – Columbus | To Fort Moore |
| Troup | Hogansville | 28.35 | 45.62 | 6 | 28 | SR 54 / SR 100 – Hogansville, Luthersville | |
| Meriwether | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions | No major junctions |
| Coweta | Grantville | 35.24 | 56.71 | 7 | 35 | US 29 (SR 14) – Grantville, Moreland | |
| Coweta | Newnan | 41.22 | 66.34 | 8 | 41 | US 27 Alt. / US 29 – Newnan, Moreland, Greenville | To SR 16 |
| Coweta | Newnan | 44.02 | 70.84 | | 44 | Poplar Road | Provides direct access to Piedmont Newnan Hospital |
| Coweta | Newnan | 46.68 | 75.12 | 9 | 47 | SR 34 – Newnan, Peachtree City, Shenandoah | To business district |
| Coweta | ​ | 51.28 | 82.53 | 10 | 51 | SR 154 (McCollum-Sharpsburg Road) | |
| Coweta | ​ | 56.37 | 90.72 | 11 | 56 | Collinsworth Road – Palmetto, Tyrone | |
| Fulton | Fairburn | 61.26 | 98.59 | 12 | 61 | SR 74 – Fairburn, Peachtree City | |
| Fulton | Union City | 64.17 | 103.27 | 13 | 64 | SR 138 – Union City, Jonesboro | |
| Fulton | College Park | 65.86 | 105.99 | 14 | 66 | Flat Shoals Road | To Georgia Military College |
| Fulton | ​ | 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 |
| Fulton | ​ | 69.14 | 111.27 | 16A | 69A | SR 14 Conn. (South Fulton Parkway) | |
| Fulton | College Park | 69.61 | 112.03 | 16B | 69B | SR 279 (Old National Highway) | |
| Fulton | College Park | 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 | |
| Fulton | East Point | 73.72 | 118.64 | 19 | 73 | Virginia Avenue – Air Cargo, College Park | Signed as exits 73A (east) and 73B (west) northbound |
| Fulton | East Point | 74.03 | 119.14 | 20 | 74 | Loop Road – International | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Fulton | Hapeville | 74.57 | 120.01 | 21 | 75 | Sylvan Road / Central Avenue – Hapeville | |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 75.78 | 121.96 | 22 | 76 | Cleveland Avenue – East Point | To Atlanta Technical College |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 76.08 | 122.44 | 23 | 77 | US 19 / US 41 / SR 3 (Metropolitan Parkway) | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 76.70 | 123.44 | 24 | 77 | SR 166 (Langford Parkway) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 76.70 | 123.44 | 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). |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 76.70 | 123.44 | — | — | I-75 / I-85 north (HOV lanes) | Southern terminus of HOV3+/toll lanes |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 77.30 | 124.40 | 88 | 243 | SR 166 (Langford Parkway) – East Point | |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 79.14 | 127.36 | 89 | 244 | University Avenue / Pryor Street | |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 80.19 | 129.05 | 90 | 245 | Abernathy Boulevard / Capitol Avenue – Georgia State Stadium | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 80.54 | 129.62 | 91 | 246 | Fulton Street / Central Avenue – Georgia State University, Georgia State Stadium | |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 80.78 | 130.00 | 92 | 247 | I-20 (Ralph D. Abernathy Freeway / SR 402) – Augusta, Birmingham | |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 81.00 | 130.36 | — | — | Memorial Drive | HOV ramps for northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 81.16 | 130.61 | 93 | 248A | ML King Jr. Drive – State Capitol, Georgia State Stadium | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 81.74 | 131.55 | 94 | 248B | Edgewood Avenue, Auburn Avenue, J.W. Dobbs Avenue | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 82.11 | 132.14 | 96 | 248C | SR 10 east (Freedom Parkway) / Andrew Young International Boulevard – Carter Center | Western terminus of SR 10 |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 81.97 | 131.92 | 95 | 248D | Jesse Hill Drive, J.W. Dobbs Avenue, Edgewood Avenue | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 82.00 | 131.97 | — | — | Piedmont | HOV ramps for northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 82.53 | 132.82 | 97 | 249A | Courtland Street – Georgia State University | Southbound exit only |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 82.79 | 133.24 | 98 | 249B | Pine Street, Peachtree Street – Civic Center | Northbound exit only |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 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 |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 82.98 | 133.54 | 100 | 249D | To US 19 / US 29 (Spring Street / West Peachtree Street) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 83.18 | 133.87 | 100 | 249D | To US 29 / US 78 / US 278 / SR 8 (North Avenue) – Georgia Tech | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 83.89– 84.24 | 135.01– 135.57 | 101 | 250 | 10th Street, 14th Street – Georgia Tech | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 84.58 | 136.12 | | 251A | 17th Street – Midtown | Northbound exit only |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 84.58 | 136.12 | 26 | 84 | 17th Street, 14th Street, 10th Street | Southbound exit only, to Georgia Tech |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 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 |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 85.92 | 138.27 | 28 | 86 | SR 13 north (Buford Hwy) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of SR 13 |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 86.00 | 138.40 | — | — | Lindbergh Drive | HOV-only ramps; southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 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 |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 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 |
| Fulton | Atlanta | 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 |
| DeKalb | ​ | 90.65 | 145.89 | 32 | 91 | US 23 / SR 155 (Clairmont Road) | To DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and Emory University |
| DeKalb | Doraville | 92.91 | 149.52 | 33 | 93 | Shallowford Road – Doraville | To Briarcliff Road |
| DeKalb | Chamblee | 94.26 | 151.70 | 34 | 94 | Chamblee–Tucker Road, Mercer University | |
| DeKalb | ​ | 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 |
| DeKalb | ​ | 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 |
| Gwinnett | Norcross | 100.94 | 162.45 | 38 | 101 | Indian Trail–Lilburn Road | |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 102.06 | 164.25 | 39 | 102 | SR 378 (Beaver Ruin Road) – Lilburn | |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 103.56 | 166.66 | 39A | 103 | Steve Reynolds Boulevard | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 104.07 | 167.48 | 40 | 104 | Pleasant Hill Road | Gwinnett Place Mall; To Ronald Reagan Parkway |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 105.98 | 170.56 | 42 | 105 | SR 120 – Duluth, Lawrenceville | Northbound exit only |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 105.98 | 170.56 | 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 |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 107.03 | 172.25 | 42 | 107 | SR 120 to SR 316 east / Boggs Road – Duluth, Lawrenceville | Southbound exit only |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 107.84 | 173.55 | | 108 | Sugarloaf Parkway | Southbound exit is combined with exit 109. |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 108.96 | 175.35 | 43 | 109 | Old Peachtree Road | |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 111.46 | 179.38 | 44 | 111 | SR 317 north – Suwanee | Southern terminus of SR 317 |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 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 |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 115.22 | 185.43 | 46 | 115 | SR 20 – Lawrenceville, Buford | To Mall of Georgia |
| Gwinnett | Buford | 118.00 | 189.90 | — | 118 | SR 324 (Gravel Springs Road) | To Mall of Georgia |
| Gwinnett | ​ | | | | — | I-85 south (Express Lanes) | Northern terminus of HOV3+/toll lanes |
| Gwinnett | ​ | 119.81 | 192.82 | 47 | 120 | Hamilton Mill Road / Hamilton Mill Parkway | |
| Barrow | Braselton | 126.10 | 202.94 | 48 | 126 | SR 211 – Winder | |
| Jackson | Braselton | 129.37 | 208.20 | 49 | 129 | SR 53 – Braselton, Hoschton, Winder | To Michelin Raceway |
| Jackson | Jefferson | 136.60 | 219.84 | 50 | 137 | US 129 / SR 11 – Gainesville, Jefferson | To Athens and University of Georgia |
| Jackson | Jefferson | 140.41 | 225.97 | 51 | 140 | SR 82 (Dry Pond Road / Holly Springs Road) | |
| Jackson | Commerce | 146.58 | 235.90 | 52 | 147 | SR 98 – Commerce, Maysville | |
| Banks | Commerce | 149.32 | 240.31 | 53 | 149 | US 441 / SR 15 – Commerce, Homer, Banks Crossing | To University of Georgia |
| Banks | ​ | 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 | |
| Franklin | ​ | 163.87 | 263.72 | 56 | 164 | SR 320 – Carnesville | |
| Franklin | ​ | 165.91 | 267.01 | 57 | 166 | SR 106 / SR 145 – Carnesville, Toccoa | |
| Franklin | 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 |
| Hart | ​ | 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.