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 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.

I-185 to 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; officially Tom Moreland Interchange). 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 149 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 of toll manged lanes are operated by the State Road & Tollway Authority (SRTA) and are contained entirely within the median of I-85 with various connecting points to and from the general purpose lanes. The express lanes (one lane for each direction) begin at Chamblee–Tucker Road and end at Hamilton Mill Road; the maximum speed limit is .

Only vehicles with two-axles or motorcycles are allowed on the express lanes. Emergency vehicles when responding to emergencies and mass transit vehicles are exempt and are not tolled. Crossing the solid double white line to enter or exit the carpool lane is illegal; If caught by automated gantries, it incurs a civil toll violation of $25.

Funds generated from the express lanes are to 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.

Tolls The express lanes uses open road tolling, with tolls only payable with a valid transponder (Peach Pass, E-PASS/Uni, E-ZPass, NC Quick Pass, or SunPass). Toll rates are based on a dynamic pricing, which means toll prices will fluctuate periodically throughout the day based on real-time traffic conditions.

Off-peak hours will have the minimum toll rate, which is available weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., evenings from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., weekends, and holidays.

HOV3+ Vehicles with three passengers or more may use the express lanes toll-free, provided they have a Peach Pass account and use Peach Pass Verify via mobile app. Motorcyclists ride toll-free, provided they have a Peach Pass Account and transponder. Interoperable toll accounts are ineligible for exemptions. Violating carpool lane laws in Georgia results in a misdemeanor moving violation with penalties escalate with repeated offenses.

History Planning and construction

The first sections of I-85 to be built in Georgia were the portions in Atlanta that are part of the Downtown Connector and Northeast Expressway, and predate the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The first section, located between Williams Street and Peachtree Street, began in September 1948, and was dedicated and opened to traffic on September 25, 1951. This section contained an interchange that became northern interchange with I-75. Work on a southern stretch of the Connector, 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. Construction on the final stretch of the connector, the stretch between Richardson Street and Piedmont Avenue, including the interchange with I-20, began on February 26, 1962, and was opened to traffic on September 18, 1964. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Downtown Connector, attended by Governor Carl Sanders, FHWA administrator Rex Marion Whitton, and Atlanta mayor Ivan Allen Jr. was held inside the Georgia State Capitol on October 15, 1964.

During the planning phase, three alignments were considered for I-85 between Atlanta and South Carolina: a southern route through Athens to provide an easy link between the capital city and the University of Georgia, a northern route through Gainesville, and a route in between. Planners initially chose the northern route, but after Ernest Vandiver was elected Governor in 1958, he worked to make sure the highway traversed his home county of Franklin, a stretch that now bears his name. In response, the north route was withdrawn from consideration in February 1959. Two months later, an agreement was reached with South Carolina for the Tugaloo River bridge location. On April 19, 1960, the Bureau of Public Roads approved the middle alignment between the complete section in Suwanee and the state line. Vandiver denied that the rerouting was intended to financially benefit him and echoed highway department officials who said the central alignment was the most cost-effective. He also promised equivalent access for Athens and Gainesville. Gainesville received its spur, I-985, in 1969, but it was not until the completion of SR 316 in 1995 that there was finally a relatively quick, multi-lane expressway connecting Athens and Atlanta. Unlike I-985, however, SR 316 is not a fully controlled-access highway.

I-85 between Atlanta and the South Carolina state line was the first major leg of the Interstate Highway System in Georgia to be completed. The section between SR 17 in Lavonia and the South Carolina line opened on June 18, 1964. The state announced the opening of the section between SR 51 and SR 106/145 in Carnesville on September 1, 1964. On November 15, 1964, the state announced the opening of the section between US 441 near Commerce and SR 51. The segment between SR 98 and US 441 opened on July 20, 1965. On August 3, 1965, the section between SR 317 near Suwanee and Hamilton Mill Road opened. The link between Hamilton Mill Road and SR 53 in Braselton opened on August 31, 1965. The section between US 129 near Jefferson and SR 98 opened on October 16, 1965. The final section, between SR 53 in Braselton and US 129, opened on November 5, 1965. This completed I-85 between Atlanta and Charlotte. The 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.

Southwest of Atlanta, construction began in 1960 on the section between US 29 in Lanett, Alabama, and SR 18 in West Point. This project experienced multiple delays, and the section did not open until June 2, 1965. Construction began on the segment between Collinsworth Road in Palmetto and I-285 in December 1963, and it opened to traffic on April 27, 1967. Construction on the segment between SR 34 in Newnan and Collinsworth Road began in June 1968 and it was dedicated and opened on August 19, 1970. Construction on the section between US 27 Alt./US 29 near Newnan and SR 34 began on June 11, 1969, and was dedicated and opened on July 20, 1971. between US 29 near Grantville and Moreland and US 27 Alt./US 29 was completed in September 1974. The final section of I-85 in Georgia, between LaGrange and Grantville, was dedicated an opened to traffic on November 22, 1977, in a ceremony officiated by Governor George Busbee, Alabama Governor George Wallace, GDOT commissioner Tom Moreland, and Alabama highway director Ray Bass. This was also the last section on the entirely of I-85 to be completed.

Later history