Georgia State Route 5

Route information
Length	167 mi[1] (269 km)
Major junctions
Major intersections	in Douglasville in Austell in Marietta in Marietta in Woodstock in Canton in Ellijay
Location
Country	United States
State	Georgia
Highway system
Georgia State Highway System Interstate US State Special

State Route 5 is a route that bisects northern Georgia. It passes through the county seats of Blue Ridge, Ellijay, Jasper, Canton, and Marietta. Along the way, it is multiplexed with one of metro Atlanta's freeways, I-575. From the Cherokee/Pickens County line to Blue Ridge, Georgia 5 is cosigned with State Route 515. It also shares routing with U.S. 76 from Ellijay to Blue Ridge. This route parallels the Marietta and North Georgia Rail Line.

Routing

S.R. 5 begins at its northern terminus at the Tennessee border in the bordertown of McCaysville. It then winds its way through the north Georgia mountains and the above-mentioned cities. After passing through Marietta, it then takes on odd routing and multiplexing as it decreases in importance as a route. Multiplexed with U.S. 78, it goes through downtown Douglasville. After leaving Douglasville, S.R. 5 becomes a strictly rural route before ending, insignificantly, in Carroll County at the Alabama-Georgia line.

"Old Highway 5"

From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Interstate 575 and Georgia Highway 515 were constructed. S.R. 5 between Canton and Marietta had become a congested and dangerous route. This new freeway would alleviate these problems. Upon completion, the signage for S.R. 5 was removed from the state roads it signified and placed alongside the I-575 and S.R. 515 shields; thus creating "Old Highway 5". Throughout the 1990's, parts of Old S.R. 5 from Sixes Road at I-575 in Toonigh to State Route 5 Spur in Marietta were assigned the inventory route number State Route 754 to complete state projects planned for the route before it was completely decommissioned. However, at that point the entire route was already maintained by the respective counties.

The southern terminus of this route is just north of the Marietta square where Cherokee Street joins Canton Road. However, because of The Zell Miller Mountain Parkway (S.R. 515) that begins at I-575's northern terminus, Old S.R. 5 stretches all the way to northern Ellijay, creating a continuous stretch of decommissioned former routing over 60 miles long. North of that point, the new four-lane was built along the existing road and older routings are in pieces north of there including parts in Whitepath, Cherry Log and Blue Ridge.

Bannered routes

State Route 5 over its history has contained a tremendous number of bannered routes. The current and notable former ones are as follows:

• State Route 5 Connector - Kennesaw

Follows part of Barrett Parkway from U.S. 41/S.R. 3 to I-575/S.R. 5/S.R. 417.

• State Route 5 Connector - Canton

Established in 1999 along a new connector road from S.R. 140 to S.R. 5 Business. This short route was originally slated to be a new location of S.R. 140.

• State Route 5 Spur - Marietta

Established in 1987 on a limited-access connection to Old S.R. 5 (Canton Road) on what had been S.R. 5 Connector prior to the relocation of mainline S.R. 5 to I-575 in 1985.

• State Route 5 Alternate - Jasper and Ellijay

Two sections of Old S.R. 5 were retained as S.R. 5 Alt. in Jasper and Ellijay while the new route was under construction. The Jasper portion was first commissioned in 1981, extended in 1984 and decommissioned in early 1986. The Ellijay portion was first commissioned in 1984 and decommissioned when work was completed on the new route in 1986.

• State Route 5 Business - Canton

S.R. 5 Business was established in 1986 along the former S.R. 5 when S.R. 5 was relocated to I-575. The route extends actually west and north of the downtown of Canton, but is the major commercial strip for the city. All but two miles of the highway are actually parts of S.R. 20 and S.R. 140.

• State Route 5 Business - Ball Ground

S.R. 5 Business in Ball Ground is mostly S.R. 372, but resulted in one mile of new route in 1989 to make a full business route for the city, though it actually runs west of downtown. The highway follows the former S.R. 5 and part of the old Jasper By-Pass.

• State Route 5 Business - Blue Ridge

S.R. 5 Business in Blue Ridge maintained Old S.R. 5 through Blue Ridge as a state highway, but was decommissioned in 1989 along with its overlapping route, U.S. 76 Business.

Sources: Peach State Roads (parts of this article written by webmaster of linked site)