Common Road Names
 

I-20:

  • Also known as the Tom Murphy Highway from the Alabama state line to I-285 in Fulton County.
  • West side of I-20 (west of I-75/85)  is also known as the West Expressway.
  • East side of I-20 (east of I-75/85)  is also known as the East Expressway.

I-85:

  • Also known as the Northeast Expressway.
  • The bridge located north of I-285 and south of exit 99 (Jimmy Carter Blvd) is also known as No Name Bridge.

I-75:

  • Also known as the Northwest Expressway.
  • SR 120, the Marietta Pkwy, runs in a loop and intersects I-75 twice. This route is also known as the Marietta Loop. Where it first crosses I-75 north of Delk Rd, it is called the South Loop. Where it crosses I-75 the second time just before Allgood Rd, it is called the North Loop.

I-75/85:

  • Most commonly known as the Downtown Connector.
  • The connector merges/splits on the south side south of Langford Parkway, also known as the Lakewood split (SR 166), and merges/splits again at the 17th Street Bridge, also known as the Brookwood Interchange or the Banana Split because of the big yellow bridge on the north side. 
  • The curve on the downtown connector is known as the Grady Curve.
  • The exit numbers for the Downtown Connector correspond to the mileage for I-75.

I-285:

  • Often referred to as The Perimeter.
  • Since it runs in a circle around Atlanta, determining direction is often difficult. Therefore, the two directions of travel on I-285 are known as the Inner Loop  and the Outer Loop.
  • Motorists will frequently use the term, The Top End to denote the area of I-285 between I-75 in Cobb County and I-85 in DeKalb County. 

SR 400:

  • Most commonly referred to as GA 400 or just, simply, 400. 
  • Also known as the Alpharetta Autobahn because of the high speeds of motorists who take the toll road that runs from Buckhead to North Georgia.
  • The exits on this highway increase sequentially and do not correspond to mileposts.
  • The area of SR 400 between the Toll Plaza and I-285 is known as Pill Hill.
  • The Financial Center Tunnel refers to the passage of SR 400 under the Atlanta Financial Center in Buckhead.

Cobb Cloverleaf:

  • Created by the intersection of I-75 and I-285 in southeast Cobb County.
  • Known as the Kennedy Interchange, and is located at the I-285/I-75 Merge in northwest of Atlanta.

Spaghetti Junction:

  • This is the intersection of I-85 and I-285 in northeast DeKalb County.
  • Its official name is the Tom Moreland Interchange.

Buckhead Loop:

  • Road that arcs from Piedmont Road across Georgia 400 to Peachtree Road.  It runs along the south side of Phipps Plaza (a.k.a. State Route 141 connector).

Stone Mountain Freeway:

  • An unofficial name for US 78, where it is controlled access like a freeway.

Langford Parkway:

  • Formerly known as Lakewood Freeway; it runs west from the Downtown Connector to I-285 and then becomes Campbellton Road.

Freedom Parkway:

  • Parkway running from the Downtown Connector to Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Glenridge Connector:

  • A short, but highly trafficked road that goes around Pill Hill, it runs from Peachtree-Dunwoody Road to I-285 and then becomes Glenridge Drive (a.k.a. the 407 Loop).

East-West Connector:

  • Connects Town Center Mall near Kennesaw to the Cumberland Mall in southeast Cobb.

The Dunwoody Family:

  • Chamblee-Dunwoody, Peachtree-Dunwoody and Ashford-Dunwoody roads, collectively; a very heavily traveled part of DeKalb County.

Southern Crescent:

  • Vague term referring to the southern region of Atlanta, including Butts, Clayton, Coweta, Fayette and Henry counties.

Northern Arc:

  • A proposed road project that would create a 50 mile highway from Bartow to Gwinnett counties and provide a vital east-west link north of I-285.

Sunshine Slowdown:

  • The effect of sunlight directly in motorist’s eyes, as drivers go east on I-20 in the morning, the sunrise causes a glare limiting visibility. Those same commuters face sunshine slowdown again going westbound in the evening.

MARTA Overpasses:

  • Of the areas where MARTA rails cross over the interstate, there are 3 intersections that are popularly used as landmarks; North Springs Marta Station, just north of Abernathy Rd on SR 400, MARTA overpass, I-85 north of Peachtree St just before the 17th street Bridge and Indian Creek Marta Station, I-285 just south of Memorial Dr.