Taking a look at traffic volumes along I-75

Photo of big green sign on I-75 northbound at Walt Stephens Road bridge (Trucks.com photo/Brian Hadden)
(Trucks.com photo/Brian Hadden)
Photo of I-75 northbound before I-675
I-75 northbound before I-675 (Photo: Brian Hadden/Trucks.com)

Have you ever wondered how much traffic is on I-75 through Henry County? Here’s a table looking at the most recent traffic counts along the interstate. All traffic counts are from 2016 prior to the opening of the Georgia express lanes.

Traffic Count Location Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT)
I-75 north of I-675 112,300
I-675 north of I-75 51,500
I-75 and I-675 converge into Henry County
I-75 north of Eagles Landing Pkwy 162,000
I-75 north of Jodeco Road 146,600
I-75 north of Jonesboro Road 147,900
I-75 north of SR 20/81 131,800
I-75 north of SR 155 109,200
I-75 north of Bill Gardner Pkwy 89,000
I-75 south of Locust Grove 76,900

From this data, we can draw several observations:

  • There is a general decrease in volumes throughout the county moving from north to south. This is to be expected as local commuters enter / exit at their respective interchanges.
  • The one exception to the general decrease is north of Jonesboro Road. There is slightly higher volume between Jonesboro Road and Jodeco Road than between Jodeco and Eagles Landing Pkwy. We see this in action with afternoon delays caused by traffic merging from Jonesboro Road to I-75 north. This could be improved with an auxiliary lane; however, the sound walls installed during the express lanes project will have to be relocated to provide space for the extra lane. The sound wall work will significantly increase costs on an otherwise simple project.
  • The planned Western Parallel Connector will decrease local traffic on I-75 between Hudson Bridge Road and Jonesboro Road. The new four-lane roadway is scheduled to begin construction in 2022.
  • I-75 between I-675 and SR 20 / 81 has higher volumes than either interstate immediately north of the converging point. The express lanes were built in part to help accommodate this large merging of volume.
  • Over twenty thousand daily vehicles enter northbound / exit southbound at SR 20 / 81. The diverging diamond interchange scheduled to be built next year will improve traffic flow for the large volume.
  • Jonesboro Road has sixteen thousand daily vehicles drop off the interstate to utilize this exit. The interchange is an excellent candidate for a diverging diamond interchange, but the first priority is to widen Jonesboro Road from Mill Road to Chambers Road. Georgia DOT delayed the road widening project this summer over budget constraints.
  • Widening US 23 / SR 42 from McDonough to Stockbridge is planned to start construction in 2023. One of the goals for this project is to remove local traffic, those only traveling five to ten miles, from I-75.
  • Plans for a new interstate exit at Bethlehem Road will relieve volumes at SR 155 and Bill Gardner Pkwy. The interchange justification report was recently submitted to the federal highway administration for federal review and conditional approval, pending the environmental impact study. Construction is anticipated to start in 2025.

Data is sourced from http://geocounts.com/gdot/ Note: the website is not mobile friendly. If on a mobile device, I find the site works best in landscape orientation.

About Clayton 1738 Articles
Clayton Carte is the founder and owner of The Henry Reporter. He founded the site in 2017 to highlight transportation projects. Over time, he began covering other topics like new development so residents can best know what’s happening in our community.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply