Interstate 475 (Georgia)

Interstate 475 (I-475) is a 15.83-mile-long (25.48 km) auxiliary Interstate highway in Georgia, splitting off from I-75/SR 540 and bypassing Macon. It is also unsigned State Route 408 (SR 408). This is the preferred route for through traffic, as I-75 enters downtown Macon and reduces to four lanes (two in either direction; undergoing widening), and has a 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) speed limit, in addition to the highway interchange with I-16.

Interstate 475
Larry Justice Highway
I-475 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-75
Maintained by GDOT
Length15.83 mi[1] (25.48 km)
Existed1967[2][3]–present
Major junctions
South end I-75 / SR 540 near Macon
 
North end I-75 near Bolingbroke
Location
CountiesBibb, Monroe
Highway system
  • Georgia State Routes
← I-420→ I-485
← SR 407→ SR 409

Route description
I-75 northbound sign at Hartley Bridge Road for I-475 north in Macon
I-475 NB end at I-75 between MM 178 & 179

I-475 carries six lanes (three in each direction) throughout its entire route (expanding to eight lanes at both junctions with I-75), except at its northernmost terminus with I-75, where it briefly reduces to four lanes.

The road has also been equipped with traffic cameras, which are a part of the Georgia Navigator system that has been extended via fiber optics all the way from metro Atlanta, nearly 100 miles (160 km) to the north-northwest.[4]

The entire length of I-475 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.[5][6]

History

Built in stages between 1965 and 1967, I-475 was originally built with two lanes in each direction, and a wide median with forest, mostly of sweetgum trees. When the one lane was added in each direction, every bit of the median was paved, with a full-lane-wide shoulder in both directions instead of the normal very narrow ones, and a Jersey barrier designed to prevent head-on collisions, instead of leaving, replanting any trees, other landscaping or native vegetation.

In 1965, the entire length of the highway was under construction;[2] it opened two years later. At the time I-75 going into Macon was not yet complete. [2][3]

The Bibb County Commission named the highway in honor of former Commission Chairman Larry Justice, who retired in 2000.[7]

Exit list
CountyLocationmikmOld exitNew exitDestinationsNotes
Bibb​0.00.0 I-75 south (SR 401) / SR 540 west (Fall Line Freeway) – Valdosta, ColumbusSouthern terminus; southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-75 exit 156
Macon0.40.641Hartley Bridge RoadAdded exit in 2009 with new collector–distributor lanes; exit 155 on I-75 southbound, collector–distributor Lanes from Hartley Bridge Road entrance going northbound to I-475 and I-75
​3.96.313 US 80 / SR 22 (Eisenhower Parkway) – Macon, Roberta
​5.69.025 SR 74 (Thomaston Road / Mercer University Drive) – Macon, Thomaston
​9.415.139Zebulon RoadTo US 41/SR 19
Monroe​15.124.3415 US 41 / SR 19 (Rivoli Road) – Bolingbroke
​15.8325.48 I-75 north (SR 401) – AtlantaNorthern terminus; northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-75 exit 177
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also
  •  Georgia (U.S. state) portal
  •  U.S. roads portal

References
  1. "Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  2. State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1966). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  3. State Highway Department of Georgia (January 1967). Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Atlanta: State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  4. "13 WMAZ traffic cams: http://www.13wmaz.com/travel/traffic/default.aspx"
  5. National Highway System: Georgia (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. May 8, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  6. National Highway System: Macon, GA (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. May 9, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2019.
  7. Stucka, Mike (August 14, 2012). "Larry Justice, former Bibb County commission chairman, dead at 74". The Telegraph. Macon, GA.

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