real estate northlake area georgia atlanta General Information
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| Interstate 285 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System | |||||||||
| The Perimeter | |||||||||
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| Length: | 63.98 mi (102.97 km) | ||||||||
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| Beltway around Atlanta, GA | |||||||||
| Major junctions: |  I-20 -  I-75 -  SR 400 I-85 - I-20 - I-75 I-85 | ||||||||
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SR 406
>Interstate 285 (abbreviated I-285) is a beltway interstate highway encircling Atlanta, Georgia, for 63.98 miles (102.97 km). I-285 is also known as unsigned State Route 407 and is colloquially referred to as the Perimeter. It is very heavily traveled, and portions of the highway frequently slow to a crawl during rush hour. It is also signed as Atlanta Bypass.
I-285 intersects with Interstate 85 in the northeast (Tom Moreland Interchange/"Spaghetti Junction") and southwest, Interstate 75 in the northwest ("Cobb Cloverleaf") and south, Interstate 20 (Tom Murphy Freeway/Ralph David Abernathy Freeway/Purple Heart Highway) in the east and west, and Georgia 400 (Turner McDonald Parkway/T. Harvey Mathis Parkway) in the north. It also meets one end each of Interstate 675, Langford Parkway ("Lakewood Freeway"), and the Stone Mountain Freeway. For 1.21 miles (1.95 km) in the southwest corner, I-85 occupies the median of I-285, yet the roadways remain separate. Exits are numbered clockwise, starting at the southwestern-most point at I-85, and ending just east of there where it meets I-85 again.
Between I-85 and I-20 in southwest Fulton County, I-285 is designated as the "Bob A. Holmes Freeway". It is also designated as "James E. 'Billy' McKinney Highway" between I-20 in northwest Atlanta and I-75 near Cumberland Mall.
The highway was officially opened in 1969. At that time, I-285 had only four lanes (two each way). Today, it is eight to 12 lanes wide, with the northern part from I-75 to Georgia 400 to I-85 being by far the most heavily traveled.
To many residents of Atlanta, the Perimeter defines a useful boundary to separate metro Atlanta's core from its surrounding suburbs. Many people will distinguish a location as being inside or outside the Perimeter, sometimes abbreviated as ITP and OTP, a recent local neologism. This was also the rough boundary chosen by BellSouth for separating landline telephone exchanges in suburban area code 770 from the existing area code 404 in 1995.
About half of the total mileage of I-285 is covered by Georgia NaviGAtor, Georgia's intelligent transportation system (ITS). Sixty-two CCTV video cameras, nine electronic message signs and full traffic-detection sensors are installed between I-75 in the northwest and I-20 in the east. Additional ITS coverage is currently under construction on the west and southeast sides of the loop, with completion expected in spring 2007.
Because the Perimeter was built so near the city, a second Outer Perimeter (Georgia 500) was proposed, to exist outside even most of the exurbs. Due to local opposition, most of the idea has been shelved indefinitely; however the Northern Arc section continues to come up, particularly under former governor of Georgia, Roy Barnes.
A portion of the section between I-75 and I-85 on the south side of I-285 has been bridged with a new runway and taxiway for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Computer animations were developed prior to construction to simulate a jumbo jet touching down on the runway from a driver's perspective. The entire highway within the tunnels is outfitted with stopped-vehicle sensors and fire detectors. Two electronic signs on either side of the tunnels can warn drivers if the tunnel is closed in an emergency.