Length 62.6 km | ||
 | ||
West end: I‑85 west of Lawrenceville East end: US 29 / US 78 / SR 10 Loop in Athens Counties Gwinnett County, Georgia, Barrow County, Georgia, Oconee County, Georgia | ||
State Route 316 (also known as SR 316, University Parkway, Georgia 316, or 316) is a state highway in northern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It links the Atlanta metropolitan area with Athens, Georgia, home of the University of Georgia. The state route is 38.9 miles (62.6 km) in length.
Contents
- Map of GA 316 Georgia USA
- Gwinnett County
- Barrow County
- Oconee County
- History
- Gwinnett Junction with I 85
- References
Map of GA-316, Georgia, USA
The first 5 miles (8.0 km) of the state highway is a freeway, but the rest of the route is at-grade with traffic signals.
Despite SR 316 being concurrent with US 29 for most of its route, the road is nearly always referred to by its state route designation, while US 29 is usually associated with its original route.
GA 316 could possibly be extended as a freeway from its Buford Drive exit to the Athens Perimeter on its current route, hitting roads like Winder Hwy (US 29 Business), Sugarloaf Parkway (current interchange), SR 81/Loganville Highway, SR 53/Hog Mountain Road, and US 78/GA 10 (current interchange)---it was considered as a toll road in 2004, but was rejected.
Gwinnett County
SR 316 begins at an interchange with Interstate 85 (I-85) exit 106, west of Lawrenceville. The route heads east, and then northeast, to an interchange with SR 120 in Lawrenceville. Then there is another interchange with Sugarloaf Parkway. Then the road has an interchange with Collins Hill road. Almost then immediately farther to the northeast is an interchange with SR 20/SR 124, also in Lawrenceville. Then the route becomes an at-grade highway. Northeast of the city, is a major intersection: US 29/SR 8 come in from the west and intersect SR 316. At the intersection, SR 8 continues to the northeast, concurrent with US 29 BUS, while SR 316 has a concurrency with the US 29 mainline. From then on, the speed limit is raised from 55 to 65 miles per hour. GA 316 continues to head east into rural Gwinnett County. Next, there is interchange with the new Sugarloaf parkway freeway extension. The last major intersection is at Harbins Road. Finally, the road heads over the Appalachee River into rural Barrow County.
Barrow County
South of Winder, the two routes intersect SR 81. To the east, at Bethlehem, is an intersection with SR 11. Then they encounter SR 53 southeast of Winder and at Statham they intersect SR 211.
Oconee County
Southeast of Bogart, the two routes intersect US 78/SR 10, which come in from the southwest. At the intersection, SR 10 continues to the northeast, concurrent with US 78 BUS, while the US 78 mainline joins the US 29/SR 316 concurrency. US 29/US 78/SR 316 intersect SR 10 Loop/SR 422 (Paul Broun Parkway/Athens Perimeter Highway) southwest of Athens. Here, SR 316 has its eastern terminus, while US 29/US 78 join SR 10 Loop/SR 422 in a concurrency to the east.
History
The first portion of the highway was completed as a freeway to Lawrenceville in 1960, after the city was bypassed by I-85. With the subsequent expansion of Atlanta into its eastern suburbs, travel between the capital and Athens became increasingly difficult as highways US 29 and US 78 were both routed through multiple business districts. Over the next decades, the state completed SR 316 in sections, weaving along the original route of US 29 in order to bypass communities and business districts, including Winder and the congested Atlanta Highway in Athens.
Gwinnett Junction with I-85
In 2006 the Department of Transportation upgraded the interchange of I-85 and SR 316 with new bridges and collector/distributor (C/D) lanes involving Pleasant Hill, Boggs, and SR 120. Westbound drivers going to Pleasant Hill Road could go there without being in the I-85 southbound lanes; traffic going to Atlanta had two new lanes with the left lane converted to an HOV lane.