Georgia State Route 3

State Route 3
Length:	348 mi[1] (560 km)
South end:	US 19/FL SR 57 at Florida state line, 12 miles south-southeast of Thomasville
North end:	US 41/US 76/TN SR 8 at Tennessee state line near Chattanooga
Georgia State Routes < SR 2 SR 4 > Branches of SR 3: 3 Alt - 3 Byp - 3 Conn

State Route 3 runs in a generally north-south orientation from Georgia's northern border to its southern border. Its northern terminus is at the Tennessee state line just southeast of Chattanooga (connecting with Tennessee State Route 8), and its southern terminus is at the Florida state line about twelve miles south-southeast of Thomasville (connecting with Florida State Road 57).

Routing

State Route 3 spends almost the entirety of its route concurrent with one or both of U.S. 19 and U.S. 41. It is concurrent with U.S. 41 on its run through the northwestern portion of the state, passing through such cities as Dalton, Calhoun, and Cartersville, and is also concurrent with U.S. 76 from the Tennessee state line to just east of Dalton. In addition, this portion of the route parallels Interstate 75.

S.R. 3 and U.S. 41 enter the Atlanta area from the northwest via Cobb Parkway, passing through Marietta, one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Upon entering Fulton County and the city of Atlanta, this becomes Northside Drive, which forms part of the western boundary of the campus of Georgia Tech. U.S. 19 joins the route at Fourteenth Street. The route briefly picks up U.S. 78 and U.S. 278 near Midtown before continuing south on Metropolitan Parkway along with U.S. 19, U.S. 41, and U.S. 29, still paralleling Interstates 75 and 85 (the Downtown Connector). U.S. 29 departs shortly afterward, just before the I-20 overpass. S.R. 3 touches the perimeter of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport near Hapeville before crossing I-75 and I-285 and leaving Atlanta proper. The highway then serves southern suburbs such as Forest Park and Jonesboro, still carrying U.S. 19 and U.S. 41. The Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton has direct access from the highway, which regularly sees massive backups on weekends when NASCAR races take place there.

S.R. 3 has a brief freeway section around the west side of Griffin. South of Griffin, U.S. 19 and U.S. 41 diverge, with S.R. 3 following U.S. 19 south through Thomaston, Butler, and Americus. Both routes join U.S. 82 and the Liberty Expressway around the north and east sides of Albany, with U.S. 82 leaving and S.R. 300 (the Georgia-Florida Parkway) joining near the end of the freeway. Both S.R. 3 and S.R. 300 follow U.S. 19 the rest of the way to the Florida state line.

Banner routes

State Route 3 Alternate

State Route 3 Alternate uses an older routing of U.S. 19 for about fifteen miles between Meigs and Thomasville. Until recently, this was the S.R. 3 mainline, while S.R. 300 served the duty of being U.S. 19's state route concurrency.

State Route 3 Bypass

State Route 3 Bypass is a short western bypass of the town of Leesburg in Lee County.

State Route 3 Connector

The portion of Tara Boulevard in Clayton County that is not covered by U.S. 19/U.S. 41 and S.R. 3 near Interstate 75 is designated as State Route 3 Connector. The route is little more than a high-capacity set of ramps to and from I-75 and is unsigned. Another instance of State Route 3 Connector occurs in Whitfield County south of Dalton; it connects I-75 to U.S. 41/S.R. 3 and the Dalton Bypass.

See also

• U.S. 19
• U.S. 41

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