Interstate 285 (Georgia)

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"Atlanta Beltway" redirects here. For the mixed-use trail and transit development, see Atlanta Beltline.

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"The Perimeter" redirects here. For the distance around a polygon or any object, see Perimeter.

Interstate 285 marker

Interstate 285
The Perimeter
<mapframe width="290" latitude="33.768" align="center" frameless="1" longitude="-84.366" height="290" zoom="10">{{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Interstate 285}}</mapframe>
I-285 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I‑85
Maintained by GDOT
Length: 63.98 mi[2] (102.97 km)
Existed: 1963[1] – present
Major junctions
Beltway around Atlanta
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Location
Counties: Clayton, Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb
Highway system
  • Georgia State Routes
← SR 284 SR 285 →
← SR 406 SR 407 SR 408 →

Interstate 285 (I-285) is an Interstate Highway loop encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for 63.98 miles (102.97 km).[2] It connects the three major interstate highways to Atlanta: I-20, I-75 and I-85. Colloquially referred to as The Perimeter, it also carries unsigned State Route 407 (SR 407), and is signed as Atlanta Bypass on I-20, I-75, and I-85.

Because of suburban sprawl, it is estimated that more than two million people use the highway each day, making it the one of the busiest interstates in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the United States. During rush hour, portions of the highway slow, sometimes to a crawl.

Route description

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. I-285 is eight to twelve lanes wide, with the northern part from I-75 to SR 400 to I-85 the most heavily traveled. One segment of the highway near Spaghetti Junction (a large, flyover highway interchange northeast of Atlanta) with I-85 widens to eighteen lanes, including collector-distributor lanes. Exits are numbered clockwise, starting at the southwesternmost point at I-85, and ending just east of there where it meets I-85 again near Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Between I-85 and I-20 in southwest Fulton County, I-285 is designated as the Bob A. Holmes Freeway, where I-285 heads north, and has an interchange with the Langford Parkway. Between I-20 in northwest Atlanta and I-75 near Cumberland Mall, it is designated as the James E. 'Billy' McKinney Highway as it continues north, and starts to curve to the east just west of the I-75 interchange.

The northern portion of I-285, east of the Cobb Cloverleaf (I-75 interchange) to Spaghetti Junction (I-85 interchange), is frequently referred to as the Top End Perimeter. This section, which includes an interchange with SR 400 at exit 27 (frequently cited as the most dangerous intersections in Atlanta), is one of the busiest freeways in the United States, handling about 250,000 cars per day and crossing through Cobb, Fulton and DeKalb counties, with several interchanges (SR 141, SR 13, and I-85) bringing additional traffic to and from Gwinnett County. Through that stretch, the freeway expands from six or eight lanes to between ten and fourteen lanes.

While I-285 does not travel through Gwinnett County, the highway travels very close to the DeKalb–Gwinnett county line,[3] and many major highways in Gwinnett County connect to I-285, with some prominent ones being US 78, I-85, and SR 141. Major Gwinnett cities near I-285 are Peachtree Corners and Norcross.

From exit 25 to exit 27, I-285 is concurrent with US 19.

Much of Atlanta's high-end commercial real estate has developed along I-285, particularly at the northwestern I-75 and the SR 400 interchanges. Notable buildings include the 35-story King and Queen towers in the Perimeter Center business district and the Cobb Galleria complex in the Cumberland/Galleria area.

East of Spaghetti Junction, I-285's direction switches from east to south, as it connects with the Stone Mountain Freeway at exit 39, and has an interchange with I-20 at exit 46, where I-285 starts to curve towards the southwest. At exit 52, it has an interchange with Interstate 675, and heads straight west after the interchange with I-75 near the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

I-285 at the I-20 interchange east of Atlanta

A portion of the section between I-75 and I-85 on the south side of I-285 has been bridged with a new runway and taxiway of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, one of only two interstates in the nation (along with I-564 in Norfolk, VA) to have an underpass beneath a runway (underpasses for taxiways do occur elsewhere). Computer animations were developed prior to construction to simulate a jumbo jet touching down on the runway from a driver's perspective. The entire highway within the tunnels is outfitted with stopped-vehicle sensors and fire detectors. Two electronic signs on either side of the tunnels can warn drivers if the tunnel is closed in an emergency. For 1.21 miles (1.95 km) in the southwest corner, I-85 occupies the median of I-285, yet the roadways remain separate.[2]

Heavy trucks traveling through (but not into) Atlanta are required to bypass the city on I-285, as there is a well-signed and heavily enforced ban on through truck traffic along I-75, I-85, I-20, SR 400, and many other major Atlanta thoroughfares. As with highways just outside I-285, trucks are also prohibited from the far-left one or two lanes (except where there are left exits open to trucks).

The complete circumference of I-285 is covered by Georgia NaviGAtor, Georgia's intelligent transportation system (ITS). There have been 153 CCTV traffic cameras, 26 electronic message signs, and traffic-detection sensors installed in phases between 1999 and 2010 by Georgia DOT. Additionally, ramp meters are present at nearly all entrance ramps onto I-285, with the exception of the southeast section of I-285 and the major freeway-to-freeway connection ramps.

To many residents of Atlanta, the Perimeter defines a useful boundary to separate metro Atlanta's core from its surrounding suburbs. People distinguish a location as being inside or outside the Perimeter, sometimes abbreviated as ITP and OTP, a recent local neologism.[4] This was also the rough boundary chosen by BellSouth for separating landline telephone exchanges in suburban area code 770 from the existing area code 404 in 1995.[5] Generally, 404 is Atlanta itself and most suburbs inside the Perimeter, while 770 serves most of the suburbs outside the Perimeter.

The entire length of I-285 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.[6]

History

File:Atlanta, Georgia 1955 Yellow Book.jpg
185px

I-285 was completed and opened in sections, with the entire highway officially opened on October 15, 1969 at a cost of $90 million, as a four-lane freeway throughout (two lanes each way).[citation needed]

The reconstruction of I-285, particularly on the top-end and the Spaghetti Junction reconfiguration (covered by the revive285 project), has cost about $355 million.[citation needed]

Until 2000, the state of Georgia used the sequential interchange numbering system on all of its Interstate highways. The first exit on each highway began 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.[7][8]

Georgia DOT voted in September 2012 to raise the speed limit from 55 to 65 miles per hour (90 to 105 km/h) on the entire freeway, and by 2013 to install electronic signs for variable speed limits north of I-20, to lower the speed limit when traffic or weather conditions warrant. This is intended to keep traffic moving at a reduced but steady speed, rather than suddenly braking drivers causing traffic to "clot" simply because other drivers are also braking (which causes unnecessary stop-and-go traffic).[9]

In 2013, there were 26 fatal accidents on I-285, giving it the highest rate of such accidents per 10 miles (16 km) of any interstate in the country.[10]

Future

Since the 1970s, the Georgia Department of Transportation has planned an outer loop, which would be a roughly 230-mile-long (370 km) circumferential loop around metropolitan Atlanta. Under Governor Sonny Perdue, the plans were dropped from the Regional Transportation Plan, in favor of the expansion of the rural state road network outside of Atlanta. The state will instead widen portions of state route 20 in north metro Atlanta, along a similar alignment to the Northern Arc.[11]

Georgia DOT broke ground in November 2017 on major improvements to the I-285 / SR 400 interchange. The project includes collector/distributor roads along I-285 and SR 400, the addition of a diverging diamond interchange at SR 400 and Abernathy Road, and new flyover ramps.[12] The project has total costs of $800 million and construction is expected to be complete in late 2020.[13][needs update]

In January 2016, governor Nathan Deal announced the major mobility investment program (MMIP), a collection of mega projects planned around the state. The program includes the addition of express lanes on I-285 from I-20 / exit 10 across the north end of Atlanta to I-20 / exit 46. The program also includes reconstructing the interchanges with I-20.[14]

The MMIP will construct two express lanes in each direction between Paces Ferry Road / mile 19 and Henderson Road / mile 35.[15] This segment includes the addition of express lanes through major interchanges with I-75, Georgia 400, and I-85. Other projects will construct one express lane in each direction between I-20 / exit 10 and Paces Ferry Road,[16] and from Henderson Road to I-20 / exit 46.[17] The completion of all express lanes is planned in 2032.[18]

On July 31, 2012, metro-area voters rejected the T-SPLOST comprehensive transportation plan that was to be funded by an additional one-percent sales tax over a ten-year period. Among the projects included in the plan was a new exit on I-285 at Greenbriar Parkway on the southwest side of Atlanta (between present exits 2 & 5), as well as major reconstruction of interchanges at exits 27 (US 19/SR 400), 10 (I-20 west of Atlanta) and 33 (I-85 northeast of Atlanta).[19][20]

Exit list

The following exits are listed clockwise from the southwest: going south to north, west to east, north to south and east to west. An exception is that heading counter-clockwise, exit 33 comes before exit 34.

County Location mi km Old exit New exit Destinations Notes
Fulton East Point 1.16 1.87 2 1 Washington Road
2.62 4.22 3 2 Camp Creek Parkway (SR 6) – Domestic Terminals
Atlanta 4.95 7.97 4A 5A SR 154 north / SR 166 east (Langford Parkway) Cloverstack interchange
4B 5B SR 154 south / SR 166 west (Campbellton Road)
7.28 11.72 5 7 Cascade Road Former SR 154
9.45 15.21 6 9 SR 139 (Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) – Adamsville
10.25 16.50 7A 10A I‑20 east (Ralph D. Abernathy Freeway / SR 402) – Atlanta, Downtown I-20 exits 51A-B
7B 10B I‑20 west (Tom Murphy Freeway / SR 402) – Birmingham
11.83 19.04 8 12 US 78 / US 278 / SR 8 (Hollowell Parkway)
12.80 20.60 9 13 Bolton Road Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance; former SR 70
Cobb Smyrna 14.86 23.91 10 15 SR 280 (South Cobb Drive) – Smyrna
​ 16.16 26.01 11 16 South Atlanta Road – Smyrna Former US 41/SR 3
​ 17.69 28.47 12 18 Paces Ferry Road – Vinings
​ 19.20 30.90 13 19 US 41 (Cobb Parkway / SR 3) – Dobbins ARB, Truist Park Counterclockwise exit is part of exit 20.
​ 19.86 31.96 14 20 I‑75 (SR 401) – Atlanta, Chattanooga I-75 exits 259A-B; Cobb Cloverleaf
Fulton Sandy Springs 21.87–
22.07		 35.20–
35.52		 15 22 Northside Drive, New Northside Drive, Powers Ferry Road
23.57 37.93 16 24 Riverside Drive
25.19 40.54 17 25 US 19 south / SR 9 (Roswell Road) – Sandy Springs Counterclockwise end of US 19 concurrency
26.19 42.15 18 26 Glenridge Drive / Glenridge Connector Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance; former SR 407 Loop
26.48 42.62 19 27 US 19 north / SR 400 – Atlanta, Dahlonega, Cumming Clockwise end of US 19 concurrency; SR 400 exits 4A-B
26.81 43.15 20 28 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
DeKalb Dunwoody 27.65 44.50 21 29 Ashford-Dunwoody Road Diverging diamond interchange (completed June 3, 2012)[21][22]
29.01–
30.04		 46.69–
48.34		 22 30 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road / North Shallowford Road / North Peachtree Road
Doraville 30.84 49.63 23 31 SR 141 (Peachtree Industrial Boulevard) – Chamblee Signed as exits 31A (south) and 31B (north)
24 — Tilly Mill Road / Flowers Road Exit removed in the 1990s during I-285 reconfiguration; now part of exit 31B northbound
31.84 51.24 25 32 US 23 / SR 13 (Buford Highway) – Doraville
​ 32.98 53.08 26 33 I‑85 (SR 403) – Atlanta, Greenville, Charlotte I-85 north exit 95, south exits 95A-B; Spaghetti Junction; signed as exits 33A (south) and 33B (north) clockwise.
Tucker 33.60 54.07 27 34 Chamblee-Tucker Road Clockwise exit is part of exit 33A.
36.01 57.95 27A 36 Northlake Parkway Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance
36.34 58.48 28 37 SR 236 (LaVista Road) – Tucker
37.71 60.69 29 38 US 29 / SR 8 (Lawrenceville Highway) – Tucker
Stone Mountain 38.49 61.94 30 39 US 78 (Stone Mountain Freeway / SR 410) – Decatur, Atlanta, Snellville, Athens Signed as exits 39A (west) and 39B (east); US 78 exit 2
39.38 63.38 31 40 East Ponce de Leon Avenue – Clarkston Clockwise exit and counterclockwise entrance
39.41 63.42 Church Street – Clarkston Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
​ 41.23 66.35 32 41 SR 10 (Memorial Drive) – Avondale Estates
​ 42.02 67.62 32A 42 Indian Creek Transit Station Counterclockwise exit and clockwise entrance
​ 43.19 69.51 33 43 US 278 / SR 12 (Covington Highway)
​ 44.26 71.23 34 44 Glenwood Road Former SR 260
Panthersville 45.99 74.01 35A 46A I‑20 west (Ralph D. Abernathy Freeway / SR 402) – Atlanta I-20 east exit 67, west exits 67A-B; signed as exit 46 clockwise
35B 46B I‑20 east (Purple Heart Highway / SR 402) – Augusta
47.90 77.09 36 48 SR 155 (Flat Shoals Road) / Invalid type: road
​ 50.72 81.63 37 51 Bouldercrest Road
​ 52.04 83.75 38 52 I‑675 south (SR 413) – Macon, Tampa I-675 exit 11; northern terminus of I-675
​ 52.81 84.99 39 53 US 23 / SR 42 (Moreland Avenue) – Fort Gillem
Fulton Atlanta 54.73 88.08 40 55 SR 54 (Jonesboro Road) – Forest Park
56.60 91.09 41A 57 US 41 (Old Dixie Road) – East Point, Forest Park
Clayton ​ 57.39 92.36 41 58 I‑75 (SR 401) – Macon, Tampa, International Terminal, Atlanta I-75 exits 238A-B
​ 58.22–
58.78		 93.70–
94.60		 42 59 Clark Howell Highway / Loop Road – Air Cargo Clockwise exit is part of exit 58.
​ 59.87 96.35 43 60 SR 139 (Riverdale Road)
Clayton–Fulton
county line		 College Park 61.28 98.62 44 61 I‑85 (SR 403) – Columbus, Montgomery, Domestic Terminals, Atlanta I-85 north exit 68, south exit 70
62.73–
0.00		 100.95–
0.00		 1 62 SR 14 Conn. (South Fulton Parkway) / SR 279 (Old National Highway)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

In popular culture

Atlanta Braves pitcher Pascual Pérez became widely associated with I-285 after he got lost on it while trying to drive to a game. On August 19, 1982, Pérez, who had just received his first U.S. driver's license, decided to drive himself to Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium (where the Braves played their home games at the time), where he was scheduled to start that evening's game against the Montreal Expos. He was unable to find the proper exit and circled the city several times before running out of gas and calling for help. When Pérez failed to arrive at the stadium by game time, the Braves called upon veteran pitcher Phil Niekro to make the emergency start. The Braves, who had been mired in a 2–19 slump, won the game,[23] kicking off a 13–2 winning streak that carried the team to the National League West division title. The team subsequently made for Pérez a warm-up jacket with the notation "I-285" in place of his uniform number.[24] The humor of the incident was credited for helping to improve the morale of the team and breaking the losing streak.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (Corrected to June 1, 1963.)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Georgia's Interstate Exit Numbers Archived 2004-02-15 at the Wayback Machine Georgia Department of Transportation - online. Accessed April 30, 2007.
  8. ↑ Interstate 20 Exit Renumbering Page Archived 2002-06-05 at the Wayback Machine Georgia Department of Transportation - online. Accessed April 30, 2007.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ http://www.velag.org/3_atlanta-invlist.pdf[dead link]
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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