Interstate 75 in Georgia

1950s

The highway that would eventually become I-75 in Georgia was an unnamed expressway that was open in 1951 from the southern part of Atlanta to University Avenue. It was projected from University Avenue to Williams Street in downtown Atlanta. This expressway was open from Williams Street to what is now the northern end of the Downtown Connector. It was also proposed from the Downtown Connector to the northwest part of Atlanta.^[5][6] By late 1953, this expressway was signed as US 19/US 41 as far north as Lakewood Avenue. It was under construction from the Downtown Connector to Howell Mill Road. It was proposed from Howell Mill Road to the northwest part of Atlanta.^[6][7] By mid-1954, the expressway was signed as SR 295 from Lakewood Avenue to University Avenue. It was under construction from the Downtown Connector to US 41/SR 3E, just north of West Paces Ferry Road.^[7][8] By mid-1955, the highway was under construction from University Avenue to Glenn Street. It was open from Williams Street to US 41/SR 3E in the central part of Atlanta.^[8][9] By mid-1957, the highway was opened from University Avenue to Glenn Street. It was also open from Williams Street to US 41/SR 3E in the northwest part of Atlanta.^[9][10]

1960s

By the middle of 1960, a short segment southeast of Williams Street was open.^[10][2] By mid-1963, I-75 was signed. It was open from the Florida state line to US 41/SR 7 in Unadilla. It was under construction from Unadilla to just north of the Crawford–Bibb county line. It was open from SR 148 in Bolingbroke to US 23/SR 42 north-northwest of Forsyth. It was open from Glenn Street to Washington Street in downtown Atlanta. It was under construction from US 41/SR 3 in the northwest part of Atlanta to its northern interchange with I-285. It was also under construction from SR 53 in Calhoun to the Tennessee state line.^[2][3] Between 1963 and 1965, open from US 41/SR 7 in Unadilla to Hartley Bridge Road south-southwest of Macon. It was proposed from Hartley Bridge Road to I-16 in Macon. It was under construction from I-16 to its northern interchange with I-475 near Bolingbroke. It was open from Bolingbroke to near Forsyth. It was under construction from there to SR 155 south of McDonough. It was proposed from there to SR 54 in Morrow. It was under construction from Morrow to US 19/US 41 west of Morrow. It was proposed from that interchange to SR 331 in Forest Park. It was open from Forest Park to West Paces Ferry Road in northwest Atlanta. It was under construction from there to SR 120 in Marietta. It was proposed from Marietta to SR 140 in Adairsville. It was under construction from Adairsville to SR 53 in Calhoun. It was open from Calhoun to the Tennessee state line.^[3][11] In 1966, the highway was open from the Florida state line to its southern interchange with I-475 near Macon. It was open from I-16 to US 23/SR 42 near Forsyth. It was open from Forest Park to its northern interchange with I-285.^[11][12] In 1967, it was under construction from US 80/SR 74 to I-16 in Macon. It was under construction from near Forsyth to the US 19/US 41 interchange west of Morrow. It was open from Forest Park to SR 120 in Marietta. It was under construction from SR 120 to Allgood Road in Marietta.^[12][13] In 1968, the highway was open US 23/SR 42 near Forsyth to SR 20 in McDonough. It was under construction from McDonough to SR 54 in Morrow. It was open from Morrow to Allgood Road in Marietta. It was under construction from US 411/SR 61 near Cartersville to SR 140 in Adairsville.^[13][14] In 1969, the highway was under construction from its southern interchange with I-475 to I-16 in Macon. It was open from I-16 to Allgood Road in Marietta.^[14][15]

1970s

I-75 near Dalton

In 1971, it was open from the Florida state line to Allgood Road in Marietta.^[16][17] In 1973, it was under construction from Marietta to SR 92 in Acworth.^[18][19] In 1974, the highway was under construction from Emerson to US 411/SR 61 near Cartersville.^[19][20] The last segment of I-75 in Georgia, located between Emerson and Cartersville, opened on December 21, 1977.^[21]

1980s

Work to increase lanes from six to eight on I-20, I-75, I-85, and I-285 and ten lanes on the downtown connector involved 126 total miles and was phased over 13 years between 1976 and 1988. The improvement campaign also included elimination of sharp curves and grades, left-hand exists, excessive interchanges, and short acceleration/deceleration lanes. So as to offer a bypass around construction through the center of the city, the perimeter road (I-285) was completed first. The radiating expressways were then upgraded, and the last phase was reconstruction of the depressed sections through downtown Atlanta. By June 1983, some $252 million in discretionary funds had been used to complete most of the highways save for some major interchanges and the downtown section. The eight miles of the downtown section, which includes the 4.4-mile long downtown connector, was the most complicated section of the entire reconstruction. Work was started on it in 1984, and it included redesigning the massive interchange between I-20 and I-75/85 at Memorial Drive where much of the mileage was on structure. The downtown connector was to be widened to ten lanes, and this required quite a bit of right of way acquisition. Many bridges, including the 55 over the connector portion alone, had to be designed and built.^[22]

With completion of the Memorial Drive interchange in November 1988, one of the nation’s premier interstate urban expressway reconstruction projects of the late 20th century was completed. The metro Atlanta expressway system stands out for its lane capacity and high design standards. The $1.4 billion estimated cost price tag to rebuild the metro Atlanta interstates nearly equals what was expended on the construction of the rest of the statewide system.^[23]

After completion

In addition to the general-purpose lanes added in the 1980s, provisions for high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and dedicated on-ramps at Williams Street, Piedmont Avenue, and Memorial Drive were built, and were subsequently converted to HOV usage in 1996 on the Downtown Connector. In 1996, HOV lanes were also added from I-285 on the south side of Atlanta to I-285 on the north side of Atlanta.

In 1998, the portion of I-75 that from the Chattahoochee River north to the Tennessee state line was named the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway. Larry McDonald, a conservative Democratic representative to Congress, was aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by the Soviets on September 1, 1983. He was the only sitting Congressman to be reportedly killed by the Soviets during the Cold War.

I-75 was also designated as the Horace E. Tate Freeway between I-85 to I-285 northwest of downtown Atlanta, in honor of Horace E. Tate, who was a State senator in 1974.

I-75 and I-85 signs near downtown Atlanta

Until 2000, the state of Georgia used the sequential interchange numbering system on all of its Interstate Highways. The first exit on each highway would begin with the number "1" and increase numerically with each exit. In 2000, the Georgia Department of Transportation switched to a mileage-based exit system, in which the exit number corresponded to the nearest milepost.^[24]

In March 2007, I-75 in Atlanta (the HOV ramp serving Northside Drive) was the site of the Bluffton University bus crash.

In January 2017 the new Peach Pass express lane opened.

On September 8, 2018, new Peach Pass lanes from the I-285/I-75 to Hickory Grove Road and from I-75/I-575 interchange to Sixes Road have opened. Also known as the Northwest Corridor. the lanes require a Peach Pass.^[25]