Status
As of April 2011, approximately 185 miles (298 km) (86 percent) of the route is open to traffic or under construction, including the entirety of the route between Columbus and Macon. The route will follow US 80 from Columbus eastward to Geneva, State Route 96 (SR 96) from there to Fort Valley, and SR 49 Connector and SR 49 to Byron, where it joins I-75. It follows I-75 to Macon, then proceeds east along or near SR 57 as far as the Wilkinson County line. The Fall Line Freeway then proceeds northeastward mostly on new roadway until it reaches SR 24 just southeast of Milledgeville, and it then follows SR 24, SR 88, and US 1 to Augusta, ending at I-520.
The alignment near Macon was originally intended to follow a new extension of roadway from I-75 at US 80 east and northeast to reunite with US 80 east of the city, providing Macon with a much-needed east bypass. However, this route was planned through the traditional cultural property of the Ocmulgee National Monument. Opposition to the project resulted in its cancellation, even after almost a mile of the new highway, ending at a stub and consisting of two long bridges, was constructed. According to the DOT, the freeway will now follow I-75 into Macon, then turn east on I-16, departing it at U.S. 80 and following that highway eastward out of Macon. Despite this, Macon Mayor Robert Reichert has expressed interest in utilizing an under-construction highway in south Bibb County, connecting I-75 to US 129, as a possible alignment for the Fall Line Freeway; this would require another highway extension across the swamps surrounding the Ocmulgee River.
The Fall Line Freeway, including portions of US 80 is designated to be included in I-14, a proposed future interstate that would run from I-520 in Augusta, Georgia, to either Natchez, Mississippi, or to I-49 at Alexandria, Louisiana.
Read more about this topic: Fall Line Freeway
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