State Route 316 (SR 316), also known as University Parkway, or Georgia 316, is a state highway that exists in the northern part of the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It links the Atlanta metropolitan area with

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, home of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. The first of the state highway is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

, but the rest of the route is at-grade with traffic signals with the exception of its junction with SR 81 east of

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. Despite SR 316 being concurrent with

US 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington ...

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. SR 316 could possibly be extended as a freeway from its Buford Drive exit to the Athens Perimeter on its current route, intersecting roads like Winder Highway ( US 29 Business),

Sugarloaf Parkway Sugarloaf Parkway is an at-grade and limited-access highway in Gwinnett County in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The highway provides a cross-county route from Duluth to Dacula. In 2010, a freeway extension opened past the ...

(current interchange), SR 81 (Loganville Highway), SR 53 (Hog Mountain Road), and US 78/ SR 10 (current interchange).

Route description

Gwinnett County

SR 316 begins at an interchange with

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, ...

(I-85) exit 106, west of Lawrenceville. The route heads east, and then northeast, to interchanges with SR 120, Riverside Parkway,

, and Collins Hills Road/ SR 20/ SR 124, all in Lawrenceville. Then the route becomes an at-grade highway. Northeast of the city is a major intersection:

/ SR 8 come in from the west and intersect SR 316. At the intersection, SR 8 continues to the northeast,

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with US 29 BUS, while SR 316 has a concurrency with US 29. 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 an interchange with the 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

Georgia 316 at border of Barrow and Gwinnett counties

South of Winder, the two routes meet SR 81 at an interchange. To the east, at

, 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 Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Ins ...

, 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

. 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 Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

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. On October 22, 2020, the highway's junction with SR 81 was upgraded to an interchange. The project to upgrade the junction cost 26.4 million dollars.

Gwinnett junction with I-85

In 2006, the Georgia Department of Transportation upgraded the interchange of I-85 and SR 316 with new bridges and collector/distributor (C/D) lanes involving Pleasant Hill Road, Boggs Road, and State Route 120. By utilizing one of these flyover bridges, drivers travelling westbound on SR 316 can access Pleasant Hill Road independently from I-85 southbound traffic. Another flyover built carried two new lanes of traffic going towards Atlanta on I-85 from SR 316. An HOV-only lane was converted to an express lane in 2011.

Future

SR 316 is scheduled to receive a number of improvements resulting in the entire route becoming a limited-access highway. This includes projects at SR 53 and SR 11. GDOT is planning on constructing a new interchange at Harbins Road in 2019 and hopes to have it open to traffic in 2021.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Commons category, Georgia State Route 316
SR 316 at southeastroads.comPictures of Termini of SR 316I-85/SR 316 Interchange Reconstruction

316 __NOTOC__ Year 316 (Roman numerals, CCCXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, y ...

Transportation in Athens, Georgia Transportation in Gwinnett County, Georgia Transportation in Barrow County, Georgia Transportation in Oconee County, Georgia