Interstate 575
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2008) |
Phillip M. Landrum Memorial Highway | ||
Route information | ||
Auxiliary route of I-75 | ||
Maintained by GDOT | ||
Length | 30.97 mi[1] (49.84 km) | |
Existed | October 16, 1980[2]–present | |
NHS | Entire route | |
Major junctions | ||
South end | I-75 / SR 5 in Kennesaw | |
North end | SR 5 / SR 372 / SR 515 near Nelson and Ball Ground | |
Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Georgia | |
Counties | Cobb, Cherokee, Pickens | |
Highway system | ||
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Interstate 575 (I-575) is an
Route description
For almost all of its length, I-575 has two lanes in each direction, with a
The city of
I-575 crosses the Little River between Woodstock and Holly Springs and has four bridges over the Etowah River in northeastern Canton as it flows under the southern half of the Riverstone Parkway (former SR 5) exit. It also crosses Noonday Creek between Barrett Parkway and Chastain Road at the northeast corner of Town Center at Cobb regional mall. That stream roughly follows the freeway northward on the east side of the road, passing alongside the northbound ramp to SR 92 and then crossing back under to the northwest just before Towne Lake Parkway.
At the Canton and Holly Springs exit, the two
The entire length of I-575 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.[3]
History
I-575 was mostly constructed as a suburban spur highway, intended to serve an undeveloped area for future settlement, rather than as one to relieve traffic or to link I-75 to an existing city or large town (On the other hand, I-985 was built as a link between I-85 and the preexisting city of Gainesville.) It has since accelerated land development and population growth in the area far beyond what the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) predicted, essentially causing its own traffic. (After just 20 years, it carried as many cars per day as it was expected to in 40 years.)
The first stage of I-575 was constructed in 1979 from I-75 to SR 92 near Woodstock and was opened to traffic on October 16, 1980. The next section to SR 20 began construction in 1981 and was opened on March 29, 1985, as far north as exit 11 (now mile 20). The section between the original exit 8 (now exit 16A) and exit 10 (now exit 19) was originally part of the Canton Bypass (SR 20), which was constructed in 1978. The final portion of I-575 to past Howell Bridge Road and SR 372 opened later, and that extended the highway to its present length of 31 miles (50 km), although the northernmost mile (1.6 km) given in this length was not constructed up to Interstate Highway standards since it extends past a surface (at-grade) intersection. This final portion north of Canton was constructed of concrete rather than asphalt, and narrow black lines run on either side of the white lane markings.
In 2000, Georgia switched over from a sequential exit numbering system to a mileage-based exit numbering system.[4]
The road was last repaved in mid-2009, with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Auxiliary lanes
In February 2006, GDOT let two bids to add auxiliary lanes in both directions on the
Relocation of SR 5
I-575 is now cosigned throughout its length with SR 5, which was completely removed from its former alignment in 1985–1986 over a nearly 70-mile (110 km) stretch from
Most of the former SR 5 did not get such treatment, and all of it was originally deleted except a portion in
SR 20 exit
The I-575 and SR 20 interchange was originally a half
Future
Widening
The southern part of I-575 was slated to be widened to a total of six through lanes in the next few years, as part of the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes plan from the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA). The extra lane in each direction would extend up to Sixes Road and was planned to be an HOV/HOT lane, with special exits at smaller roads that currently do not have any direct access. The GRTA proposes bus rapid transit along the route.
There would also be separate new HOV ramps built to southbound and from northbound I-75. That highway was proposed to have eight lanes added to it, with one pair going straight to I-575. All widening on I-575 would be done in the median.
In 2009, the plan was scaled-back to include two reversible lanes on I-75, with one extending up I-575.
Ridgewalk Parkway/Rope Mill Road
A new exit (designated exit 9) was approved in October 2005 by GDOT at Ridgewalk Parkway (formerly Rope Mill Road), between Towne Lake Parkway and Sixes Road. Projected to cost $22 million, the new exit will consist of a full diamond interchange and a widened overpass, to benefit the Ridgewalk commercial development on private land adjacent to the new exit.[6] In addition, the project is part of a greater plan to create a northern bypass of Woodstock, connecting north of downtown to Arnold Mill Road, in theory helping to relieve some of the congestion in the traffic-prone downtown area. The current east–west connection through downtown is restricted to two lanes since recent development was allowed that blocked one-way Mill Street from being extended eastward (which would have allowed Arnold Mill Road/Towne Lake Parkway to carry only westbound traffic through downtown).
During construction of this section of I-575 in the early 1980s, the current overpass was constructed to provide access to private property and the now-defunct Little River Wildlife Management Area, which was later abandoned by the state. The bridge was also a connection to a severed alignment of new Rope Mill Road west of I-575, which originally ran on a north–south alignment from Woodstock to Lebanon before the bridge over the Little River was removed in the early 1990s. The southernmost part of that alignment of Rope Mill Road was realigned eastward through forest land so as to meet Ridgewalk Parkway across from the northern end of Woodstock Parkway. This was done to accommodate the new northbound entrance ramp and opened in early October 2011.
The
Sixes Road widening
Sixes Road was widened from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway west of I-575 to Bells Ferry Road, where it continues into the BridgeMill development. The short section east of I-575, to where it ends at old SR 5, has also been widened to four lanes. In 2013, the bridge crossing over I-575 was widened to bring it to four lanes. I-575's ramps were also expanded as well. In addition, a larger shoulder was constructed going north from the new Rope Mill exit.
Exit list
County | Location | mi | km | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atlanta | Southern terminus; southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-75 exit 268, previously exit 115; southern end of SR 5 concurrency | ||||||
| 1.02 | 1.64 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2.67 | 4.30 | 2 | 3 | Chastain Road | Access from I-575 south to I-75 north, I-75 south to I-575 north | |
| 3.86 | 6.21 | 3 | 4 | |||
Cherokee | Woodstock | 6.70 | 10.78 | 4 | 7 | SR 92 (Alabama Road) – Woodstock, Roswell, Acworth | |
7.92 | 12.75 | 5 | 8 | Towne Lake Parkway – Woodstock | |||
9.57 | 15.40 | 9 | Ridgewalk Parkway | Opened in late 2012 | |||
Holly Springs | 11.22 | 18.06 | 6 | 11 | Sixes Road – Holly Springs | ||
Holly Springs–Canton line | 14.37 | 23.13 | 7 | 14 | Old SR 5 (Canton Road) – Holly Springs | Road is named "Marietta Highway" north of the interchange and is generally referred to still as "Highway 5", which appears on most street name signs. | |
Southern end of SR 20 and SR 140 concurrencies; exit 16A is only present going southbound on I-575. Going northbound on I-575, exit 16A and 16B is merged into a singular exit 16. Exit is southernmost extent of the old Canton By-Pass, which opened prior to the completion of I-575 as a new alignment of SR 20 and forms a short freeway stretch to Marietta Highway; former SR 5 | |||||||
17.13 | 27.57 | 9 | 16B | SR 140 east (Hickory Flat Highway) – Canton | Northern end of SR 140 concurrency; exit 16B is only present going southbound on I-575. Going northbound on I-575, exit 16A and 16B is merged into a singular exit 16. | ||
18.75 | 30.18 | 10 | 19 | SR 20 east (Cumming Highway (East), Main Street (West)) – Canton, Cumming | Northern end of SR 20 concurrency | ||
19.86 | 31.96 | 11 | 20 | SR 5 Bus. (Riverstone Parkway, Ball Ground Highway) – Canton, Ball Ground | |||
| 24.20 | 38.95 | 12 | 24 | Airport Drive – Cherokee County Airport, Ball Ground | ||
SR 5 Bus. (Howell Bridge Road) – Ball Ground | |||||||
north | Northern terminus of I-575/SR 5 Bus./SR 372; southern terminus of SR 515; northern end of SR 5 concurrency; not an interchange, it’s an intersection; SR 5 Bus. and SR 372 northbound has no access to I-575 and SR 5 southbound | ||||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ "Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System: Table 2". FHWA. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
- ^ Georgia Department of Transportation (1980). Official Highway and Transportation Map (PDF) (Map) (1980–1981 ed.). Scale not given. Atlanta: Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- ^ National Highway System: Atlanta, GA (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. May 9, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
- ^ "Interstate Exit Numbers". Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
- Gross Domestic Product deflatorfigures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
- ^ Dixon, Crystal (January 1, 2010). "Banner Year". Cherokee Tribune. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
- ^ "Archive for the 'Traffic' Category". townelakerelo.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2005. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
External links
- Media related to Interstate 575 at Wikimedia Commons