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/State Route 540 (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 marker

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
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-75 / SR 540 near Macon
Major intersections
North end I-75 near Bolingbroke
Location
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountiesBibb, Monroe
Highway system
  • Georgia State Highway System
← 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 northbound end at I-75 between milemarkers 178 and 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 the Atlanta metropolitan area, 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 Chair 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, Columbus		Southern 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) – Atlanta		Northern terminus; northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-75 exit 177
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. "Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 5, 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". 13 WMAZ. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  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, Georgia. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
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