State Route 81 (SR 81) is a diagonal

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

that travels southwest-to-northeast in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of

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. Its path exists within portions of

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

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, and Barrow

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. It connects the

McDonough McDonough is an Irish surname. Origins and variants The surname is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Mac Donnchadha", which means son of Donnchadh or son of Donough. The name itself consists of elements meaning "brown (donn)" or Donn “t ...

area with Winder, via Covington and Loganville.

Route description

Western terminus to Oxford

SR 81 begins at an intersection with US 19/ US 41/ SR 3 (Bear Creek Boulevard), just north of

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, in Henry County. It heads east to

. There, it intersects SR 20 (Hampton Road). They run

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to the northeast, into the main part of town. Immediately, they have an interchange with

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...

(I-75) at exit 218. The exit will be rebuilt into a

diverging diamond interchange A diverging diamond interchange (DDI), also called a double crossover diamond interchange (DCD), is a subset of diamond interchange in which the opposing directions of travel on the non-freeway road cross each other on either side of the inte ...

in 2020. Continuing east, the two highways intersect US 23/ SR 42 in the downtown McDonough Square. From the downtown square to an intersection with SR 155 (Zack Hinton Parkway) the highways form an east-west one-way pair. At this intersection, SR 20 splits off to the north. SR 81 then heads to the southeast before curving to the northeast and crosses over the South River, into Newton County. The bridge over the South River will be replaced by Georgia DOT in 2020. In Henry County, SR 81 is signed as a west–east route; signage changes to south–north at or near the Newton County line. The highway has an intersection with SR 212. Then, it heads north before curving to the northeast again. It meets SR 162 just before it enters Porterdale. The intersection with SR 162 is under construction to install a new roundabout; completion is expected in May 2020. In town is an intersection with the northern terminus of SR 162 Connector. SR 81 crosses over the

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

and passes through the main part of town. Immediately after leaving Porterdale, it enters Covington, where it turn north and intersects US 278/ SR 12, before passing under, but not interchanging

I-20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. Between ...

. Then, it passes through

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Oxford to Winder

On the northern end of Oxford, the road curves to the north-northeast and meet the northern terminus of SR 142, before turning to the north and entering Walton County. Northward is Walnut Grove, where it intersects SR 138. The route heads north-northwest to Loganville. In town is a brief concurrency with US 78/ SR 10 (Atlanta Highway) and splits off to the northwest. In the main part of town is a very brief concurrency with SR 20. Then, it heads northeast, passing through

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

s of the county, before it crosses the Apalachee River into Barrow County. Southwest of Winder is an intersection 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 ...

/ SR 316. As of fall 2019, the intersection is under construction to be converted into a grade-separated interchange. Construction is estimated to be completed in October 2020. Just before entering Winder, the highway passes Fort Yargo State Park on its western end. In Winder, it reaches its northern terminus, an intersection with US 29 Business/ SR 8/ SR 11/ SR 53.

National Highway System

The following portions of SR 81 are part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense: *From SR 155 in McDonough to the intersection with the southern terminus of Crowell Road and the western terminus of Covington Bypass in Porterdale *The entire length of the concurrency with US 78/SR 10 in Loganville

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline
Georgia Roads (Routes 81 - 100)
081 Transportation in Henry County, Georgia Transportation in Newton County, Georgia Transportation in Walton County, Georgia Transportation in Barrow County, Georgia