Interstate 75 North - Macon-Bibb County

The first of 12 interchanges in Macon-Bibb County joins I-75/SR 540 with Sardis Church Road at Exit 153, 1.86 miles east of Hartley Bridge Road.

05/06/22

Opening up the adjacent area for development, the folded diamond interchange (Exit 153) joining I-75 with Sardis Church Road was completed by May 2012.

05/06/22

Sardis Church Road extends 3.08 miles east from I-75 to Houston Road. Included in the Macon Area Transportation Study,³ construction started in 2016 extended the controlled access arterial southeast 5.26 miles U.S. 41/SR 11 and over a section of Avondale Mill Road east to U.S. 129/SR 247 near Middle Georgia Regional Airport (MCN).⁴

09/06/20

Hartley Bridge Road runs 3.56 miles northeast from the Crawford County line to overtake Mt. Pleasant Church Road just west of the the upcoming exchange with I-75/SR 540 at Exit 155.

09/06/20

A wye interchange (Exit 156) follows Hartley Bridge Road with Interstate 475 north. The bulk of through traffic headed to Atlanta shifts onto the 15.92 mile long western bypass of Macon.

05/06/22

Construction underway to 2009 modified the parclo interchange (Exit 155) at Hartley Bridge Road to include a distributor roadway north to the separation with Interstate 475.

09/06/20

Hartley Bridge Road heads 2.87 miles east from Exit 155 to Skipperton and Houston Road (old SR 11) near Rutland. Hartley Bridge Road west in conjunction with Mt. Pleasant Church Road and Fulton Mill Road, comprises a loop southwest of Macon.

09/06/20

Advancing north from the Hartley Bridge Road overpass, Interstate 475 branches northwest from I-75/SR 540 at Left Exit 156 in one mile. Expansion work at the I-75/475 split took place between 2006 and July 2009.

05/06/22

Northbound I-75 expands to five lanes leading into the separation with I-475 at Exit 156. The bypass freeway runs across the west side of Macon before reconvening with I-75 at Bolingbroke.

05/06/22

Entrance ramps from Hartley Bridge Road combine along a distributor roadway separate from the I-75 mainline north to Exit 155.

09/22/22

Traffic on the distributor roadway partitions for I-475 north around Macon and I-75/SR 540 north to Downtown Macon and Interstate 16.

09/22/22

Left Exit 156 departs I-75/SR 540 north with three lanes for Intertate 475 toward Atlanta. Three lanes continue toward Downtown Macon and I-16, where SR 540 (Fall Line Freeway) turns east.

05/06/22

I-75/SR 540 traverse Tobesofkee Creek and associated wetlands over the succeeding 1.3 miles from I-475.

05/06/22

Downtown Macon lies seven miles to the northeast along the Ocmulgee River. Interstate 16 spokes southeast from I-75 in eight miles for the coastal city of Savannah.

05/06/22

U.S. 41/SR 247 (Pio Nono Avenue) shift 1.28 miles west from U.S. 129/SR 11-49 (Broadway) to I-75/SR 540 at Exit 160.

05/06/22

Jennifer Drive spans I-75/SR 540 a half mile southwest of the parclo interchange (Exit 160) with U.S. 41/SR 247 (Pio Nono Avenue).

05/06/22

Although formally consolidated with Bibb County, the previous Macon city limits are acknowledged along I-75 north at Rocky Creek.

11/07/14

U.S. 41/SR 247 (Pio Nono Avenue) parallel I-75/SR 540 to the west along a commercial boulevard north to U.S. 80/SR 22 (Eisenhower Parkway) and 3.48 miles to U.S. 41 Business (Vineville Avenue). U.S. 41 (Vineville Avenue) turns northwest toward Forsyth while SR 247 continues along Pierce Avenue to I-75 at Exit 167.

05/06/22

U.S. 80/SR 22 (Eisenhower Parkway) meets I-75/SR 540 at the succeeding exit northbound. Eisenhower Parkway is a major arterial linking the freeway with U.S. 129 (Broadway) to the east and Interstate 475 to the west.

05/06/22

U.S. 80/SR 22 (Eisenhower Parkway) lead 0.9 miles east from I-75 to combine with U.S. 129/SR 11-49 (Broadway) north toward Downtown Macon. Eisenhower Parkway extends another 0.63 miles to a stub end at Edgewood Avenue. Unrealized plans for the Fall Line Freeway lengthened Eisenhower Boulevard further east to I-16.

05/06/22

I-75/SR 540 north enter the parclo interchange (Exit 162) with U.S. 80/SR 22 (Eisenhower Parkway) at the Hightower Road overpass.

05/06/22

SR 74 (Mercer University Drive) east ties into I-75/SR 540 at a six-ramp parclo interchange (Exit 163) by Mercer University in 0.75 miles. Beginning at I-75, SR 74 travels 107.89 miles overall to Fairburn in Fulton County.

05/06/22

SR 22 follows U.S. 80 west from Downtown Macon to Macon Mall, Roberta and the Alabama state line near Columbus.

05/06/22

Mercer University Drive continues 0.26 miles east from I-75 to College and Plant Streets at Mercer University. Little Richard Penniman Boulevard extends the arterial another 0.8 miles to 2nd Street north toward Downtown.

05/06/22

I-75/SR 540 curve northeast from SR 74 (Mercer University Drive) two miles to Interstate 16 east at Exit 165. I-16 provides part of the connection between the Atlanta metropolitan area and Georgia's Golden Isles.

05/06/22

U.S. 41BU/SR 19 stems east from U.S. 41/247 (Pio Nono Avenue) along Vineville Avenue to a one way couplet along Forsyth Street east and Hardeman Avenue west. A split diamond interchange joins I-75/SR 540 with U.S. 41BU at Exit 164.

05/06/22

U.S. 41BU/SR 19 eastbound shifts north from Forsyth Street along College Street to Georgia Avenue, which takes the route to Spring Street outside Downtown Macon. Vineville Avenue northwest along U.S. 41 leads to the Macon Museum of Arts and Science.

05/06/22

SR 19 accompanies U.S. 23/129 (Spring Street) north across the Ocmulgee River. U.S. 41BU joins SR 49 along Walnut Street through Downtown Macon to U.S. 80/129-SR 11/22 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard) south.

05/06/22

The I-16/I-75 Interchange Improvement project underway through 2030 reconfigures the exchange at Exit 165 to eliminate left exit ramps and remove weaving traffic patterns.

05/06/22

Phase 2 of the I-16/I-75 Interchange Improvement project shifts the separation for Exit 165 south to the First Avenue pedestrian bridge.

05/06/22

Additionally redesign of the entrance ramp from U.S. 41BU/SR 19 adds a grade separation to eliminate weaving traffic.

05/06/22

Exit 165 originally joined I-75 north with I-16 east beyond the Walnut Street overpass.

05/06/22

I-16 initially parallels the Ocmulgee River southeast across from Downtown Macon. Points of interest for Exit 165 include the Ocmulgee National Monument, the Tubman Museum and the Georgia Sports and Music Hall of Fame.

05/06/22

Connecting I-75 also with I-95 and the Port of Savannah, Interstate 16 stretches 165.71 miles southeast to Downtown Savannah.

05/06/22

I-75 parallels the Ocmulgee River and U.S. 23/SR 87 northwest from I-16 to Exit 171. This stretch of I-75 is locally referred to as the Reginald Trice Parkway, named after a former Bibb County Chairman of the State Highway Board.

07/25/22

U.S. 23/SR 87 (Riverside Drive) run along the west side of I-75 to a parclo interchange (Exit 167) at the north end of SR 247 (Pierce Avenue).

05/06/22

SR 247 constitutes a 43.46 mile long route south to Warner Robins and Hawkinsville.

05/06/22

SR 247 (Pierce Avenue) heads 2.13 miles south from Exit 167 to adjacent U.S. 23/SR 87 (Riverside Avenue) and U.S. 41/41BU at Vineville Avenue and Pio Nono Avenue.

07/25/22

Riverview Road passes over Interstate 75 from U.S. 23/SR 87 to several Macon neighborhoods to the east. I-75 was expanded to six lanes along a two mile stretch between Exit 167 and Exit 169 by November 2013.⁵

05/06/22

I-75 advances one mile northwest from the Red Oak Drive to Exit 169 for Arkwright Road.

05/25/21

The forthcoming diamond interchange at Exit 169 serves a bevy of restaurants and retail development.

05/25/21

Exit 169 leaves Interstate 75 north beyond Sabbath Creek.

05/06/22

Arkwright Road forms a loop 3.84 miles along with Tom Hill, Sr. Boulevard east from Northside Drive to adjacent U.S. 23/SR 87 (Riverside Drive) and north along the Ocmulgee River to Arkwright and U.S. 23/SR 87 again at Bass Road.

05/25/21

Interstate 75 reduces to four overall lanes beyond Exit 169. U.S. 23/SR 87 (Riverside Drive) turn northward to meet I-75 directly at a diamond interchange (Exit 171) in one mile.

05/06/22

Heading north from Exit 171, U.S. 23/SR 87 (Riverside Drive) pass through another widespread area of retail including The Shoppes at River Crossing.

05/06/22

U.S. 23/SR 87 parallel the Ocmulgee River into Butts County and eventually curve westward to Jackson.

05/06/22

Next meeting Bass Road at Exit 172, Interstate 75 angles northwest away from U.S. 23 toward Bolingbroke. I-75 and U.S. 23 reconvene in Locust Grove, though they do not meet directly again until an overlap in Toledo, Ohio.

05/06/22

The confirming marker posted a half mile ahead of Exit 172 was removed by 2022.

11/07/14

Bass Road (former SR 361) arcs southwest from U.S. 23/SR 87 at Arkwright Road to a commercialized diamond interchange (Exit 172) with Interstate 75.

05/06/22

Exit 172 departs I-75 north for Bass Road. SR 361 followed Bass Road and Foster and Tucker Roads as a rural loop west of Macon to central Bibb County until 1982.⁶

05/06/22

Interstate 75 becomes less suburban as the freeway enters Monroe County.

05/06/22