Georgia State Route 20
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| State Route 20 |
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| Length: | 175 mi (282 km) | |||||||||||
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| Counterclockwise end: |  AL-9 at the Alabama state line in Floyd County |
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| Clockwise end: |    U.S. 19/U.S. 41/S.R. 3 in Hampton |
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State Route 20 is an abnormally-oriented route in roughly the shape of a capital J rotated ninety degrees to the left. Its counterclockwise terminus is at the Alabama state line in Floyd County, and its clockwise terminus occurs in the middle of an overpass over U.S. 19/U.S. 41 and S.R. 3 in Hampton in Henry County at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, where it is known as Bruton Smith Parkway.
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[edit] Routing
From the Alabama state line, S.R. 20 proceeds east into the city of Rome. The highway leaves Rome on the other side concurrent with U.S. 411 until just north of Cartersville (U.S. 41 briefly joins the concurrency near Cartersville as well), after which S.R. 20 continues eastward on its own. S.R. 20 serves such distant northern suburbs of Atlanta as Canton, Cumming, and Buford, crossing Interstates 75, 575, and 985 as well as S.R. 400. The road turns southeast after S.R. 400 and then south after I-985, crossing I-85 shortly thereafter. The road also has easy access to S.R. 316, leading to Athens.
S.R. 20 continues southward through Lawrenceville and Loganville before meeting Interstate 20 in Conyers. Likely to help alleviate driver confusion due to two identically-numbered highways meeting, the highway is usually referred to at this point as S.R. 138, with which it overlaps through Conyers. S.R. 20 continues south and then southwest to the Henry County seat of McDonough, where it briefly overlaps S.R. 81. S.R. 81 departs to the north after crossing Interstate 75 at exit 218. The portion of S.R. 20 between the western end of the S.R. 81 concurrency and U.S. 19/U.S. 41 has recently been widened from two lanes to four, including a new southern bypass of the city of Hampton and more controlled access at U.S. 19/U.S. 41. The primary purpose of the widening is to facilitate the flow of traffic to and from the Atlanta Motor Speedway located near the highway's western terminus.
[edit] Highways intersected
[edit] Floyd County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
  S.R. 100 West |
Rome | GA 100 East joins GA 20 GA 100 West to Summerville |
 S.R. 100 East |
Rome | GA 100 East leaves GA 20 to go to Cave Spring |
   U.S. 27/S.R. 1/S.R. 101 |
Rome | GA 20 joins US 27/GA 1. |
 S.R. 293 North |
Rome | GA 293 to Kingston |
 S.R. 53 |
Rome | GA 53 East to Calhoun |
 S.R. 101 |
Rome | GA 101 South to Rockmart |
   U.S. 411/U.S. 27 South/S.R. 1 South |
Rome | GA 20 leaves US 27/GA 1 and joins US 411 |
| S.R. 746 | Rome |
[edit] Bartow County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
| S.R. 293 |
Cartersville | |
   U.S. 41/S.R. 3 North |
Cartersville | US 411/GA 20 join US 41/GA 3 southbound. |
  U.S. 41/S.R. 3 South/S.R. 61 |
Cartersville | US 411/GA 20 leave US 41/GA 3 southbound. |
| U.S. 411 North/S.R. 61 North |
Cartersville | GA 20 East leaves US 411 northbound US 411 North to Fairmount |
 I-75 |
Cartersville | I-75 North to Chattanooga; I-75 South to Atlanta |
[edit] Cherokee County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 S.R. 108 North |
Canton | GA 108 North to Waleska |
   |
Canton | GA 20 East joins GA 140 southbound |
 I-575 |
Canton | GA 20/140 join I-575 NB for a little while; but then I-575 and GA 20 split from GA 140. At exit 19, GA 20 departs I-575. |
 S.R. 369 |
Ball Ground | GA 369 North to Gainesville |
 S.R. 372 |
Canton | GA 372 North to Ball Ground; GA 372 South to Alpharetta |
[edit] Forsyth County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 S.R. 306 East |
Cumming | |
 S.R. 9 North |
Cumming | GA 9 South joins GA 20 GA 9 North to Dawsonville |
| S.R. 9 South |
Cumming | GA 9 South leaves GA 20 GA 9 South to Alpharetta |
  U.S. 19/S.R. 400 |
Cumming | GA 400 North to Dahlonega; GA 400 South to Atlanta |
[edit] Gwinnett County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
  U.S. 23 South/S.R. 13 |
Buford | US 23 North joins GA 20 eastbound GA 13 North to Flowery Branch; GA 13 South to Duluth |
 I-985 |
Buford | US 23 North joins I-985 North I-985 North to Gainesville; I-985 South to Atlanta |
 S.R. 324 East |
Buford | GA 324 East to Auburn |
 I-85 |
Buford | I-85 North to Greenville, SC; I-85 South to Atlanta |
 S.R. 124 North |
Lawrenceville | GA 124 South joins GA 20 East GA 124 North to Braselton |
 S.R. 316 |
Lawrenceville | GA 316 East to Athens; GA 316 West to Atlanta |
 U.S. 29 |
Lawrenceville | |
| S.R. 124 |
Lawrenceville | GA 124 South to Snellville |
 S.R. 84 West |
Grayson | To Snellville |
[edit] Walton County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 S.R. 81 North |
Loganville | GA 81 South joins GA 20 eastbound GA 81 North to Winder |
| S.R. 81 South |
Loganville | GA 81 South leaves GA 20 eastbound GA 81 South to Covington |
  U.S. 78/S.R. 10 |
Loganville | US 78 East to Monroe; US 78 West to Snellville |
[edit] Rockdale County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 S.R. 138 East |
Conyers | GA 138 West joins GA 20 South GA 138 East to Monroe |
 I-20 |
Conyers | I-20 East to Augusta; I-20 West to Atlanta |
| S.R. 138 West |
Conyers | GA 138 West leaves GA 20 South; GA 138 West to Stockbridge |
[edit] Newton County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 S.R. 212 |
Covington | GA 212 North to Atlanta; GA 212 East to Monticello |
[edit] Henry County
| Highway | Destination | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 S.R. 155 |
McDonough | GA 155 North to Decatur; GA 155 South to Griffin |
| S.R. 81 South |
McDonough | GA 81 North joins GA 20 West GA 81 South to Covington |
 U.S. 23/S.R. 42 |
McDonough | US 23 North to Stockbridge; US 23 South to Jackson |
| I-75 |
McDonough | I-75 North to Atlanta; I-75 South to Macon |
| S.R. 81 West |
McDonough | GA 81 West leaves GA 20 Westbound GA 81 West to Lovejoy |
| U.S. 19/U.S. 41/S.R. 3 |
Hampton | Southwestern terminus US 19/41 North to Jonesboro; US 19/41 South to Griffin |
[edit] July 27, 2003 Holt-Dixon Accident
The road is known as the site of the July 27, 2003 wreck that killed 14-year-old Cobb County resident Sara Holt and injured her parents and their family friends. This incident took place between Sugar Hill and Buford and was caused by a commercial truck driver under the influence of drugs.[1] Sara's death marked the tenth teenager killed in a road accident in Gwinnett County in 2003.[2]
The accident occurred when Gary and Edith Holt and their daughter Sara were traveling to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with some family friends, Joseph and Pamela Dixon and their children. The abovementioned truck driver, Courtney Ellis, crossed the center lane of the road and crashed head-on into the Ford Excursion, driven by Joseph Dixon, which the two families were riding in. The Excursion careened off the road and struck a tree, flipping over, and Ellis' truck ran down a ravine. Mr. and Mrs. Dixon and their two children were airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital, while Mr. and Mrs. Holt were transported to Gwinnett Medical Center; Edith Holt was severely injured and was forced to recuperate at a private hospital.
This accident sparked increased interest in the training and disciplinary standards of truck drivers, and a "Sara's Law" was proposed by some as a means to punish truck drivers who speed or are caught with drugs. [3]
[edit] Directional signage
In Henry County, S.R. 20 is signed as an east-west route; signage changes to north-south at or near the Newton County line. The point at which signage changes to east-west again is uncertain. In Gwinnett County, S.R. 20 is signed as an east-west route. If one were to begin traveling the highway at the Alabama state line and continue to the end, signage would indicate travel first to the east, then to the south, then to the west - the opposite direction in which the traveler started - and vice versa in the opposite direction.
[edit] Banner Route
State Route 20 has one banner route, Georgia State Route 20 Spur. This route runs from S.R. 20 just east of its interchange with Interstate 75 east of Cartersville south to Allatoona Dam. The route, along with nearby Allatoona Dam road, formed the two segments of State Route 294.
