U.S. Route 1 in Georgia - Route Description

Route Description

The route starts at the Florida state line on the St. Marys River in eastern Charlton County, and initially runs north as a four-lane highway through Folkston, co-signed with US 23, US 301, and SR 15. In Homeland, US 301 splits off and runs in a northerly direction, while US 1 turns to the northwest, crosses into Ware County, and initially forms the county line between Ware County and Brantley County. The route continues northwest and runs west through Waycross. For the majority of its length in Charlton and Ware counties to Waycross the route is very closely paralleled by the CSX Transportation rail line from Georgia into Florida. In Waycross US 1 turns north to cross into Bacon County and Alma. In northern Bacon County, US 23 splits off to the northwest, while US 1 continues in a northeasterly direction, and crosses into Appling County.

Heading through Baxley, the route continues north, and crosses the Altamaha River into Toombs County, then heads through Lyons, and on into Emanuel County. US 1 becomes a four-lane grassy-median-divided highway just before crossing I-16 north of Oak Park, and continues north to Swainsboro. Still heading north, the route crosses into Jefferson County and runs through Wadley and Louisville, where it becomes concurrent with US 221 on its way to Wrens.

From Wrens, having split from US 221, US 1 turns northeast and crosses into Richmond County, cutting through the southern portion of Fort Gordon, before reaching the Augusta metro area, crossing I-520, and heading into downtown Augusta. In downtown Augusta, US 1 and SR 4 separate. SR 4 takes the older route to cross the Savannah River with U.S. Route 25 Business, while US 1 turns northeast with US 25, US 78, and US 278, which soon turn north and also cross the Savannah River into South Carolina.