Driving Directions To Atlanta (2024)

FAQs

Is it worth taking 285 around Atlanta? ›

But when you're driving on Atlanta's I-285 freeway, the odds of coming out unharmed are seriously stacked against you. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that there are 3.5 fatal accidents per 10 miles on this freeway – the highest rate in America.

Plan Your Travel Time

Rush Hour Avoidance: Try to avoid traveling during peak morning and evening rush hours, typically from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Adjust your schedule to leave earlier or later, if possible. Weekends and Holidays: Traffic tends to be lighter on weekends and holidays.

Atlanta is accessible via Interstates 20, 75, 85 and Georgia 400. I-285 forms a beltway around the city.

According to the report, ATL is tied for the 10th worst city for traffic in the U.S., with commuters losing an average of 74 hours to traffic delays in 2022.

Atlanta is home to over six million people. Of those six million people, over three-quarters drive to and from work each day, either alone or in a carpool. That means that millions of drivers take to Atlanta's complex freeway system each day, leading to frequent delays and traffic jams.

Heavy trucks traveling through (but not into) Atlanta are required to bypass the city on I-285, as there is a well-signed and heavily enforced ban on through truck traffic along I-75, I-85, I-20, SR 400, and many other major Atlanta thoroughfares.

Interstate 285 (I-285) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway loop around Atlanta, Georgia, for 63.98 miles (102.97 km).

Another reason traffic gets so bad, so quick on the south side is the amount of lanes. I-75 files down to three lanes in each direction south of Hudson Bridge Road. This has always made for horrible traffic on summer weekends or surrounding holidays.

What is the best time to drive on the highway? ›

Earlier is always better if you are getting out on the highways. Give yourself plenty of time and head out in the morning early to avoid traffic. Statistically, Tuesday mornings between 3am and 6am are the times when the least number of cars are on the road, and thereby, the safest.

35/51 Peachtree Street.

Atlanta's famous street name is widely known due in part to Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone With the Wind, which introduced the city and its most famous street to popular culture.

Not to be outdone, Atlanta is a close second in the Southern ranks and 14th nationwide, with 123,536 average daily vehicle trips. The city's arteries, I-75 and I-85, are notorious for their congestion, with I-75 in Atlanta ranking second on the Federal Highway Administration's list of the busiest U.S. highways.

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.

A survey of 3,000 roadtrippers identified one Georgia highway as one of the scariest roads in the country. Also known as Martha Berry Highway, U.S. Route 27 ranked as the 44th most feared route. The state road is a 356-mile highway that spans the length of the state and as far north as Fort Wayne, Indiana.

ATLANTA - If you ask drivers in metro Atlanta, they'll tell you it's a perilous city to navigate. Rush hour seems perpetual, and Atlanta itself feels like it's an hour away from Atlanta. On Interstate 285, the minimum acceptable speed is 80 mph.