Interstate 59 in Georgia

This article is about the section of Interstate 59 in Georgia. For the entire route, see Interstate 59.
Interstate 59 marker
Interstate 59
Map
I-59 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by GDOT
Length20.67 mi[1] (33.27 km)
ExistedAugust 14, 1957[2]–present
HistoryCompleted in 1971[3]
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-59 at the Alabama state line south of Rising Fawn
Major intersections SR 136 in Trenton
North end I-24 near Wildwood
Location
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountiesDade
Highway system
  • Georgia State Highway System
← SR 58→ SR 59

Interstate 59 (I-59) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 445.23 miles (716.53 km) from Slidell, Louisiana to near Wildwood, Georgia. In the U.S. state of Georgia, I-59 travels 20.67 miles (33.27 km) from the Alabama state line south of Rising Fawn to its northern terminus at I-24 near Wildwood, entirely within Dade County in the far northwest corner of the state. Most of I-59's route passes through rural and mountainous terrain, with the only city it serves being Trenton.[4] Although the Interstate does not connect with it, I-59 parallels the older U.S. Route 11 (US 11) corridor for its remaining length with indirect access via certain interchanges. Beyond I-59's northern terminus into Tennessee, I-81 takes over its role as the parallel Interstate Highway for US 11, and is connected to I-59 via I-24, I-75, and I-40. For internal Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) purposes, I-59 carries the hidden designation of unsigned State Route 406 (SR 406).[5][6]

Of the four states which I-59 traverses, the segment in Georgia is the second-shortest, behind the Louisiana segment. First signed into the system in 1957, the original segment of I-59 to be added into Georgia was an 8.1-mile (13.0 km) segment from the Alabama state line to Trenton, opened in 1968. The second and final segment with a length of 11.8 miles (19.0 km), connecting Trenton to I-24, was finished in 1971, filling the rest of the route in.

  1. ^ "Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System: Table 1". FHWA. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
  2. ^ Public Roads Administration (August 14, 1957). Official Route Numbering for the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as Adopted by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). Washington, DC: Public Roads Administration. Archived from the original on July 19, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2018 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  3. ^ Stephens, Gene (October 25, 1971). "Georgia Pushes to Finish Interstates by 1978". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta. p. 8. Retrieved October 29, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Georgia Department of Transportation. "Georgia Department of Transportation Office of Transportation Data Interstate Mileage Report - 2020" (PDF). www.dot.ga.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Georgia Department of Transportation (April 27, 2017). "ROAD NAMES AT EXITS ON GEORGIA INTERSTATES, FREEWAYS, AND EXPRESSWAYS" (PDF). www.dot.ga.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Georgia Department of Transportation. "GEORGIA INTERSTATES AND STATE ROUTES CONVERSION" (PDF). www.dot.ga.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2024.