Georgia State Route 13 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
State Route 13 |
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by GDOT | ||||
Length | 49.5 mi (79.7 km) | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | US 19 / SR 9 in Atlanta | |||
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North end | SR 369 in Gainesville | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Hall | |||
Highway system | ||||
Georgia State Routes Former SR
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State Route 13 (SR 13) is a 49.5-mile-long (79.7 km) state highway in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia, that travels through portions of Fulton, DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Hall counties.
It begins at West Peachtree Street and Spring Street (US 19/SR 9) just to the north of 17th Street in the northern part of Midtown Atlanta. The section south of Buckhead is a full freeway, from its southern terminus to Sidney Marcus Boulevard, built in 1953 as an extension of the Downtown Connector (built in 1952). This was later the original alignment of Interstate 85 (I-85; Northeast Expressway) through northeast Atlanta until 1985, when it was replaced by several lanes in each direction on a new roadway and viaduct immediately adjacent to it during the Freeing the Freeways construction boom.
SR 13 ends at Jesse Jewell Parkway (SR 369) in Gainesville. The name changes from Buford Highway to Atlanta Highway at the northeast city limits of Buford.
SR 13 once continued northeast past Gainesville, roughly along present SR 365, to the South Carolina state line on US 123.
Contents
History
Buford Highway originated as a non-descript state roadway connecting Atlanta and points northeast, including the then-railroad towns of Chamblee and Doraville, as well as points farther north. The towns of Doraville, Chamblee, and Norcross had long been home to a blue collar, largely white, lower middle-class population. The highway was characterized by strip mall development, and apartment complexes sprouted up in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1976, the first ethnic restaurant opened, the Havana Sandwich Shop. In the 1980s, immigrants settled in the area due to affordable housing, available public transportation, and proximity to construction jobs in growing Gwinnett County. The area attracted many Latino workers during the construction boom that preceded the 1996 Olympic Games. Asian business owners were attracted to the stretch of highway by cheap leases and reliable traffic flow.
During the 1996 Olympics, Chamblee embraced the growing international character of Buford Highway, while more conservative Doraville resisted it. As the Southern Foodways Alliance reported:
"'Why would we want to attract more immigrants when we got all we want?' asked Doraville mayor Lamar Lang to the press. 'That’s just not our way of life here,' agreed the city council. 'We’re basically Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians.'"
Accidents
On July 22, 2010 PBS's Need to Know program portrayed the corridor as an example of a high-pedestrian area in suburban America that fails to meet increased demand for walkability due to changing demographics. The program noted that in the previous ten years, 30 people had died and an additional 250 were injured while trying to cross Buford Highway, a rate three times higher than any other road in Georgia. Despite this, there are no plans to improve pedestrian safety in the unincorporated area of the corridor.
Public transportation
Buford Highway is served by MARTA bus route 39 (Lindbergh Center station to Doraville) as well as privately run "jitneys", or minibuses. Since 1992, the Doraville MARTA metro rail station is also a block away from Buford Highway at the end of the Gold Line. Originally the North and then Northeast Line, MARTA's 2009 change to a color-based system created controversy with the Asian community along the highway when it was to originally have become the Yellow Line.
In popular culture
The city of Chamblee, in which part of the Buford Highway community is located, is sometimes referred to as "Chambodia" due to its high Asian population and the concentration of Asian restaurants along Buford Highway in Chamblee. A chapter of Tom Wolfe's novel A Man in Full is titled "Chambodia".
Major intersections
County | Location | Mile | Roads intersected | Notes | |
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Fulton | Atlanta | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 19 south / SR 9 south (Spring Street) / Peachtree Street – Downtown Atlanta | Southern terminus; freeway section begins |
0.42 | 0.68 | US 19 north / SR 9 north (Peachtree Street) – Buckhead | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
1.38 | 2.22 | I-85 south (SR 403) to I-75 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-85 exit 86 | ||
2.01 | 3.23 | Armour Drive / Monroe Drive to Piedmont Road south | |||
2.18 | 3.51 | SR 237 north (Piedmont Road) | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
2.87 | 4.62 | I-85 north (SR 403) – Greenville | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; I-85 exit 86 | ||
3.17 | 5.10 | To SR 237 (Piedmont Road) / SR 400 north / Sidney Marcus Boulevard | North end of freeway | ||
DeKalb | Brookhaven | 4.35 | 7.00 | SR 42 south (North Druid Hills Road) to I-85 | Northern terminus of SR 42 |
Brookhaven–Chamblee line | 6.69 | 10.77 | US 23 south / SR 155 south (Clairmont Road) to I-85 – Decatur | South end of US 23 concurrency; northern terminus of SR 155 | |
Doraville | SR 13 Conn. west (Motors Industrial Way) | Eastern terminus of SR 13 Conn. | |||
10.55 | 16.98 | I-285 (SR 407) to I-85 | I-285 exit 32 | ||
Gwinnett | Norcross | 14.27 | 22.97 | SR 140 (Jimmy Carter Boulevard) to I-85 / SR 141 – Roswell, Tucker | |
15.70 | 25.27 | SR 378 east (Beaver Ruin Road) to I-85 – Lilburn | Western terminus of SR 378 | ||
Duluth | To I-85 / Pleasant Hill Road | Interchange | |||
21.04 | 33.86 | SR 120 (Duluth Highway) / West Lawrenceville Street – Alpharetta, Lawrenceville | |||
Sugarloaf Parkway | |||||
Suwanee | 27.18 | 43.74 | SR 317 south (Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road) to I-85 | Northern terminus of SR 317 | |
Sugar Hill–Buford line | 31.29 | 50.36 | US 23 north / SR 20 (Nelson Brogdon Boulevard / Buford Drive) to I-985 – Cumming, Coolray Field | North end US 23 concurrency | |
Hall | Buford | 35.78 | 57.58 | SR 347 (Lanier Islands Parkway) | |
Oakwood | 44.33 | 71.34 | SR 53 (Mundy Mill Road) to I-985 – Oakwood, Chestnut Mountain, University of North Georgia | ||
44.58 | 71.74 | SR 332 (Poplar Springs Road) – Talmo | |||
45.19 | 72.73 | I-985 (US 23 / SR 365 / SR 419) | I-985 exit 17 | ||
Gainesville | 49.53 | 79.71 | SR 369 east (Browns Bridge Road) | Northern terminus; no left turn onto SR 369 west from SR 13 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Bannered route
State Route 13 Connector | |
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Location: | Doraville |
Length: | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) |
State Route 13 Connector (SR 13 Conn.) is a 1.1-mile-long (1.8 km) connector route that connects US 23/SR 13 (Buford Highway NE) to SR 141 (Peachtree Industrial Boulevard) in Doraville, within DeKalb County. The entire route travels along Motors Industrial Way, a four-lane divided highway with a grassy median. The highway is separated from the inner lanes of Interstate 285 (I-285) by a Jersey barrier.
SR 13 Conn. is not part of the National Highway System, a system of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.
The entire route is in Doraville, DeKalb County.
Mile | Roads intersected | Notes | ||
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0.0 | 0.0 | US 23 / SR 13 (Buford Highway NE) | Southern terminus | |
1.0 | 1.6 | I-285 east (SR 407 / Atlanta Bypass) | No access to I-285 West from SR 13 Conn. and no access from I-285 to SR 13 Conn. | |
1.1 | 1.8 | SR 141 (Peachtree Industrial Boulevard) – Chamblee, Norcross | Northern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |