Downtown Connector
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Image:Downtown connector daytime.jpg Image:Downtown connector nighttime.jpg In Atlanta, Georgia, the Downtown Connector or 75/85 (pronounced "seventy-five eighty-five") is the overlapped route of Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 through the core of the city, including downtown and midtown. Mile markers and exit numbers have always been posted according to I-75 only, but once re-joining I-85 the numbers continue as if the motorist were traveling I-85 the entire time (not just picking up where they left off). The Downtown Connector runs generally due north-south, and meets the east-west Interstate 20 in the middle. Just north of this is the Grady Curve around Grady Memorial Hospital. Farther north, the northern terminus is the Brookwood Interchange or Brookwood Split in the Brookwood area of the city.
The highway was constructed in the early 1950s as a six-lane thoroughfare, and was heavily reconstructed during the 1980s as part of the Freeing the Freeways program to widen Atlanta-area interstates. Today the highway carries as many as 15 lanes of traffic in some sections, placing it among the widest roads in the world. The proposed Interstate 475 was originally planned by GDOT to carry some of this traffic through the eastern side of the city, but most of this was cancelled in the 1970s under Jimmy Carter, former governor of Georgia. (Parts of that road are now Interstate 675 and Georgia 400.) As of 2006, the Downtown Connector carries more than 340,000 vehicles a day and is considered one of the 10 most congested stretches of interstate in the U.S.[1]. Due to this fact, many motorists often compare Atlanta to Los Angeles, California, which is also known for its notoriously-congested freeway system.
The city's skyline, both Downtown and Midtown Atlanta, can be seen from the highway, especially at the northern and southern ends. The route also goes directly past Turner Field; formerly known as Centennial Olympic Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field events were held for the Centennial 1996 Summer Olympics.
Interchanges
The following exits are listed south to north, with the mile-log numbering used since 2000 above, and the actual exit numbers originally used below.
| Mile # (exit#) | Road(s) intersected | Destination(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 242 (87) | Southwest Expressway | Atlanta Airport, Montgomery (AL), Columbus, exit 21 (Chet Atkins Parkway/I-185 South) (5) | Southbound only |
| 243 (88) | Arthur B. Langford Jr. Parkway
(S.R. 166) | East Point | Southbound only |
| 244 (89) | University Avenue
(S.R. 54 South) Pryor Street | United States Penitentiary, Atlanta | |
| 245 (90) | Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard
Capitol Avenue/Hank Aaron Drive | Turner Field | Northbound only |
| 246 (91) | Central Avenue
Fulton Street | Georgia State University | |
| HOV exit | Memorial Drive | Georgia State Capitol
Georgia Department of Transportation Headquarters | Northbound only
Left exit |
| 247 (92) | Ralph David Abernathy Freeway | Birmingham (AL), Augusta | |
| 248A (93) | Martin Luther King Jr. Drive | Georgia State Capitol | Southbound only |
| 248B (94) | Edgewood Avenue
Auburn Avenue John Wesley Dobbs Avenue | Grady Memorial Hospital | Northbound only |
| 248C (96) | Freedom Parkway
(S.R. 10 East) Andrew Young International Boulevard | Atlanta Medical Center | |
| HOV exit | Piedmont Avenue | Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center | Northbound only
Left exit |
| 248D (95) | Jesse Hill Jr. Drive
(Butler Street) John Wesley Dobbs Avenue | Butler Street YMCA
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site | Southbound only |
| 249A (97) | Courtland Street | Georgia State University | Southbound only |
| 249B (98) | Pine Street | Emory Crawford Long Hospital
Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center | Northbound only |
| 249C (99) | Williams Street | Georgia Dome
Georgia Aquarium | Southbound only |
| HOV exit | Williams Street
Spring Street | Downtown Atlanta
Georgia Aquarium Georgia Dome Georgia World Congress Center | Southbound only
Left exit |
| 249D (100) | Spring Street
West Peachtree Street | The Varsity
Georgia Tech (East Campus) Georgia State University Village | Spring Street
West Peachtree Street (Northbound only) North Avenue (Southbound only) |
| 250 (102) | 14th Street
10th Street | Georgia Tech
(North and West Campus) Atlantic Station/17th Street (Southbound only/right exit) (a division of the Woodruff Arts Center) | Williams Street
(Northbound only access road) Techwood Drive (Southbound only access road) |
| HOV exit | Northwest Expressway
(I-75 North/S.R. 401 North) | Marietta, Chattanooga (TN) |
Northbound only Left exit |
| 251 (103) | Northeast Expressway | Buckhead, Cumming, Dahlonega, Greenville (SC) | Utilize the three (3) left lanes for I-85 North; the three (3) right lanes are for I-75 North.
To T. Harvey Mathis Parkway (S.R. 400 North), exit 87 (29). |