AJC Flashback Photos: Freeing Atlanta's freeways

Flashback photos

Flashback Photos: Freeing Atlanta's freeways

Flashback Photos: The evolution of the metro Atlanta freeway and interstate highway system starting in the 1950s

We begin our tour of our town's tempestuous thruways in the late '60s. Note: All captions are original to the photos. Aug. 1967 - Atlanta Stadium and the city's sparkling skyscrapers greet motorists coming up I-75 from the south.

May 4, 1970 - A 'New Jersey' median between Northside Drive and Brookwood on I-75. Special design has held back progress some, one field engineer says. This view: Looking southeast from Northside Drive overpass.

July 7, 1977 - A view of the Downtown Connector looking south toward the heart of downtown Atlanta.

Feb. 11, 1972 - Friday afternoon traffic heading out of Atlanta clogs the city's main artery, as seen from the Fifth Street viaduct over Atlanta's Interstate 75-85 connector.

1961 -- A view of the Williams Street entrance to the North Expressway. The battered and beaten barrels lining the entrance will be rolled away in about a week, city construction chief Ray Nixon said. Construction on a new curbing to route traffic from Williams St. onto the Expressway downtown got underway Monday.

1964 - - This portion of Peachtree Street, near Brookwood Station, is in the process of being made wider by 8 feet, 4 inches on each side. A 1,000-foot stretch between Spring and the expressway (Brookwood Station) will be widened to provide three lanes in each direction, plus a turning lane.

1967 -- Expanding commercial areas blossom with signs along Buford Highway, but DeKalb's new law has many wondering if it is the answer.

1965 -- The warning sign on the Northwest Expressway (US 41, Northside Drive) near the Chattahoochee River bridge was installed by the traffic and safety subcommittee of the Marietta Rotary Club. There are two such signs, one for northbound traffic near the river and the other warning motorists as they pass Bell's Ferry Road north of Marietta.

Douglasville, the Douglas County seat, is located only 25 miles from Atlanta.

1972 -- Workmen install warning signs on U.S. 41 for motorists traveling on this connecting link between two unfinished pieces of I-75 through Cobb County. The signs are in reaction to the high number of accidents and deaths on this highway. (Editor's note: The unfinished stretch of I-75 included the bridge over Lake Allatoona and interstate traffic had to be routed from I-75 onto U.S. 41 until the span's completion in 1977.)

1971 -- Traffic frequently bogs down near Ga. 54's shopping area in Forest Park.

Aug. 26, 1965 - Traffic congestion, including a trolley bus, clogs Forsyth Street at the intersection of Luckie Stret, looking toward Peachtree Street in downtown.

Dec. 9, 1974 - Looking north from Ga. Hwy 5 at I-75 (south of Kennesaw, Cobb County, Ga.) showing new section open to traffic. Exit and entering ramps were closed due to uncompleted construction.

October 5, 1961 -- Traffic on Interstate 75 as it approaches the city of Atlanta, Ga.

1982 - Roswell: Near the intersection of Dogwood, looking west on Holcomb Bridge Road, near Ga. 400.

October 1969 -- Gov. Lester Maddox was present at the official opening of Atlanta's perimeter highway, I-285.

1966 -- Interstate 20, between Ashby and Peters Streets, facing west. Shoulder and median work are cited as the cause for traffic atery being kept closed. Road signs warn trespassers to stay away.

1970 -- Stone Mountain's history and economy are tied to the famous mass of granite. (Editor's note: U.S. 78 is bucolic here, compared to its busy status today as a feeder from the Gwinnett suburbs to I-285.)

Sept. 18,1964 - Five p.m. traffic moves smoothly over the downtown Expressway Connector which was opened Friday. (Traffic in foreground appears to be heading east to I-20.)

Aug. 2, 1966 - Vehicles wait and wait to get on U.S. 41 from South Cobb Drive at 4:30 p.m.

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We begin our tour of our town's tempestuous thruways in the late '60s. Note: All captions are original to the photos. Aug. 1967 - Atlanta Stadium and the city's sparkling skyscrapers greet motorists coming up I-75 from the south.

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