Interstate 85 in Georgia

Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway that travels northeast–southwest in the US state of Georgia. It enters the state at the Alabama state line near West Point, and Lanett, Alabama, traveling through the Atlanta metropolitan area and to the South Carolina state line, where it crosses the Savannah River near Lake Hartwell. I-85 connects North Georgia with Montgomery, Alabama, to the southwest, and with South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia to the northeast. Within Georgia, I-85 is also designated as the unsigned State Route 403 (SR 403).

I-85 in Georgia usually travels roughly parallel with the route of US Route 29 (US 29). However, from Atlanta northeast to South Carolina, I-85 ventures away from that route, traveling about halfway between US 29 and the combination of US 23 and US 123.

Within the city of Atlanta, I-85 has a concurrency with I-75 known as the "Downtown Connector". After splitting from Downtown Connector, it is known as Northeast Expressway until its junction with I-285 (The Perimeter).

I-85 enters the state of Georgia from Alabama via twin bridges over the Chattahoochee River, and then it immediately skirts the town of West Point, with Kia's multibillion-dollar plant located adjacent to the freeway just east of West Point. After leaving West Point, I-85 enters the LaGrange area, the first large town in Georgia on its route to the northeast. Northeast of LaGrange, I-85 has an interchange with the long spur freeway, I-185, to the Columbus metropolitan area. This is the only connection between Columbus and the Interstate Highway System.

An 18-mile (29 km) stretch between the Alabama line and exit 18 in LaGrange is serving as an environmental and technological testbed for a project called The Ray, a partnership involving federal and state officials, the private sector, academia and philanthropic organizations. Among the projects are a solar-paved roadway, enhanced road striping for autonomous vehicles, and plantings along the right-of-way to improve runoff and possibly serve as a harvestable crop.

From LaGrange, I-85 heads northeastward toward Atlanta. Before reaching Atlanta, the highway crosses the CSX Transportation A&WP Subdivision twice (in the Grantville area) and passes through the suburbs of Moreland, Newnan, Fairburn, and Union City. The highway then intersects I-285 at its southwest end in College Park. This interchange is one of the most complex interchanges in the country, as I-285 and I-85 stay side by side through the interchange, which actually has two parts. The interchange also features many other, less important local access roads at the same time; meanwhile providing access to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. I-85 then runs along the northwestern boundary of the airport in East Point, providing access to the domestic terminal.

At the southwestern edge of Atlanta's city limits, I-85 merges with I-75 to form the Downtown Connector, which is 12 to 14 lanes wide. At the southern edge of Downtown Atlanta, this freeway has an interchange with the major east–west Interstate Highway, I-20. The two freeways then skirt the eastern edge of downtown, running due north, passing through the Georgia Tech campus and the Atlantic Station section of Atlanta before the two highways split, with I-75 exits via the right three lanes and then heads northwest while I-85 uses the left three lanes and then heads northeast.

Heading northbound after the Brookwood Interchange with I-75, I-85 is routed along a 10-lane-wide viaduct from the Buford Highway Connector (exit 86) to SR 400 (exit 87). Continuing northeast of Atlanta, I-85 continues through the northeastern suburbs, bypassing Chamblee and Doraville, where there is another intersection with I-285 (nicknamed Spaghetti Junction). The Interstate then travels through the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta, including Lilburn, Duluth, Lawrenceville, and Buford. The Interstate has freeway interchanges with SR 316 in Duluth and I-985 in Suwanee, which provides a link to Gainesville. Satellite Boulevard within Gwinnett County parallels I-85 to the west as an arterial frontage road.