Interstate 16 (I-16), also known as Jim Gillis Historic Savannah Parkway, is an east–west Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Georgia. It carries the hidden designation of State Route 404 (SR 404) for its entire length. I-16 travels from downtown Macon, at an interchange with I-75 and SR 540 to downtown Savannah at Montgomery Street (exit 167B).

All of I-16 is included as part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.

Route description

Macon-Bibb County

left|thumb|I-16 in [[Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park]]

I-16 begins at an interchange with I-75/SR 540, just northwest of downtown Macon, in Bibb County. Here, it begins a concurrency with SR 540. The Interstate and SR 540 proceed southeast, traveling just east of the downtown area. They cross over the Ocmulgee River and then have an interchange with US 23/US 129/SR 49 (Spring Street/North Avenue). Then, they have a partial interchange with SR 22 (2nd Street) that is only accessible from the westbound lanes. Almost immediately is an interchange with US 80/SR 87 (Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Coliseum Drive). At this intersection, SR 540 departs the concurrency to the north-northeast. Within the eastern part of this interchange, the highway travels under a railroad bridge that carries railroad tracks of Norfolk Southern Railway. In the east-central part of Macon, I-16 travels through Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park but without direct access. Visitors need to first exit at the US 80/SR 87 exit. On the southern edge of the national monument, it crosses over Walnut Creek. It then travels on a bridge over some railroad tracks of CSX and Boggy Branch. After leaving Macon, I-16 curves to the south-southeast and has an interchange with US 23/U.S. Route 129 Alternate (US 129 Alt.)/SR 87 (Ocmulgee East Boulevard). In the interchange, the highway crosses over Swift Creek. It crosses over Stone Creek before entering Twiggs County.

Twiggs, Bleckley, and Laurens counties

I-16 curves back to the southeast and has an interchange with Sgoda Road. It crosses over Flat Creek and then has an interchange with Jeffersonville and Bullard roads. It curves to the east-southeast and crosses over Savage and Turvin creeks. It then curves back to the southeast. The highway has an interchange with SR 96. Almost immediately, it crosses over Richland Creek. It then has an interchange with SR 358. I-16 curves to the east-southeast and enters Bleckley County just before it has an interchange with SR 112 just south of Allentown. It then crosses over Rocky Creek just before entering Laurens County. The Interstate curves back to the southeast and crosses under SR 278 before it travels south of Montrose. It crosses over Bay Branch just before an interchange with SR 26. It then enters the southwestern part of Dudley. There, it has an interchange with SR 338. I-16 curves back to the east-southeast and crosses over Little Rocky Creek just before a rest area. Just to the west-northwest of a crossing of Turkey Creek, the westbound lanes have a rest area. These two rest areas are the only ones along the entire length of I-16. On the southwestern edge of Dublin, the highway has an interchange with SR 257. On the southern edge of the city are interchanges with US 319/US 441/SR 31 and SR 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Drive). It then crosses over the Oconee River. It has an interchange with SR 199 (Old River Road) just before a crossing of Pughes Creek. Southeast of that is a crossing of Red Hill Creek. Just south of Rockledge, the highway crosses over Mercer Creek. On the eastern edge of the creek, it enters Treutlen County.

Miscellaneous notes

I-16 serves as a hurricane evacuation route for Savannah and other coastal areas. The road is designed for contraflow travel with railroad-type gates to block most entrance and exit ramps for the normally eastbound lanes. During hurricane evacuation, I-16 is converted into westbound traffic from Savannah to west of US 441 in Dublin (exit 51), a total of .

History

thumb|Macon, Georgia, 1955 Yellow Book with I-16 route (to Savannah)|185px

The first part of I-16 opened October 11, 1966, to traffic between US 319 (exit 51) in Dublin to SR 29 (exit 67) near Rockledge. In 1968, the segment between US 280 to downtown Savannah was completed and opened. By the early 1970s, I-16 was completed from downtown Macon at I-75 to Jeffersonville Road near Danville. It was also extended from Dublin to Allentown. In 1973, the connection between Macon to Dublin was completed. The last part of the I-16 opened on September 22, 1978, placing it in Emanuel, Candler, and Bulloch counties and completing the connection between downtown Macon and Savannah.

1990s

In 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit Georgia's coast. As a result, the eastbound I-16 lanes from Savannah to US 1 (exit 90) were opened to westbound traffic. This marked the first time I-16 was turned into a one-way Interstate. This contraflow traffic method has been used since, including in 2016 in evacuation efforts from Hurricane Matthew and 2017 for Hurricane Irma.

2000s

Until 2000, the state of Georgia used the sequential interchange numbering system on all of its Interstate Highways. The first exit on each highway would begin with the number "1" and increase numerically with each exit. In 2000, the Georgia Department of Transportation switched to a mileage-based exit system, in which the exit number corresponded to the nearest milepost.

In 2001, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution to designate the Earl T. Shinhoster Interchange at the interchange with Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Savannah in honor of Earl Shinhoster, who was a black civil rights activist. This interchange is located in the economic and cultural center for Black Savannah.

In 2003, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution to designate I-16 in honor of James L. Gillis Sr., a Democrat who served as a state representative, state senator, and director of the Georgia Department of Transportation, as the Jim Gillis Historic Savannah Parkway. Gillis's sons, Hugh and James Jr., also served as Democratic state legislators. Hugh was a state representative from 1941 to 1953 and a state senator from 1953 to 1955 and from 1963 to 2005. James Jr. was a state senator from 1945 to 1946.

2020s

right|thumb|Collapsed bridge of SR 86 over I-16

On July 15, 2021, a truck, with its dump trailer raised, struck the overpass bridge of SR 86 near exit 78, causing the bridge deck to shift . While no injuries were reported, the resulting damage prompted GDOT to close both directions of I-16 from exit 71 to exit 78 while the damaged bridge was being demolished. Both directions of I-16 were reopened within 48 hours of the incident. The reconstructed overpass was opened to traffic in late July 2022. Due to this, people had to take detours up to 10 minutes longer than the normal route through the towns of Adrian and Soperton.

Future

I-95 interchange

Due to high congestion during rush hour in Savannah and many deadly car accidents, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has undertaken a new construction project at the interchange of I-95 and I-16 (exit 157 on I-16), along with other I-16 improvements. The project, dubbed as the 16@95 Improvement Projects, includes:

  • The widening of I-16 from two lanes in each direction to three lanes between the junctions with I-95 and I-516 (exit 164).
  • The construction of a partial turbine interchange (whirlpool interchange) at the junction of I-16 and I-95, in which two existing loop ramps, from I-16 westbound to I-95 southbound, and from I-95 southbound to I-16 eastbound, will be replaced with turbine configuration ramps.
  • The creation of a collector–distributor road on I-95 northbound to separate through traffic from cars exiting onto and entering from I-16.
  • The construction of a two-lane emergency median cross-over for westbound I-16 traffic between Dean Forest Road/SR 307 (exit 160) and I-95, to assist in hurricane evacuations from Savannah.
  • Ramp meters will be installed at exit 160 as well as exit 162 (Chatham Parkway)
  • The reconstruction of six bridges, replacement of four bridges, and the construction of three new bridges near the area.
  • The addition of new interchange lighting at the I-95 interchange and Intelligent Transportation System technology to provide real-time driving conditions to travelers.

The project, upon completion, is expected to result in a 32% decrease in I-16 congestion by 2030. A noise study concluded that barriers would not be necessary since traffic noise were not predicted to be over 66 dB(A).

The project is expected to cost around $295 million. Construction, which will be completed by Savannah Mobility Contractors JV, was set to begin in the second half of 2019 and be completed by the end of 2022. However, construction did not start until 2020, has been delayed multiple times, and is now expected to cost $317.4 million. The ramp from I-16 west to I-95 south was opened on March 23, 2023, with the ramp from I-95 south to I-16 east opened on June 2, 2023. Construction is ongoing as of January 29, 2024, with long-term detour routes in place.

I-75 interchange

The interchange of I-75 and I-16 is also undergoing construction as part of $500 million project, split into six phases, with the first three phases being worked on simultaneously. These phases were set to be completed by the end of 2021, but as of February 2023, only Phase 1 has been completed:

  • Phase 1: A collector–distributor road was built on I-16 eastbound between the I-75 junction and Spring Street (exit 1A), including new bridges over the Ocmulgee River and Spring Street. The Spring Street loop ramp was temporarily closed and replaced with a temporary left turn onto I-16 westbound. Also, the bridge over the Ocmulgee River on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was reconstructed and widened in this phase. This phase was completed in the summer of 2022. and Gray Highway via the currently-underutilized Second Street bridge, reducing congestion on Spring Street and North Avenue: This project was labeled as Phase 1B.

Possible removal of the Earl T. Shinhoster Bridge

In Savannah, city and state officials are currently considering removing the Earl T. Shinhoster Bridge, which carries eastbound traffic over Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and onto Montgomery Street at the eastern terminus of I-16. The construction of the I-16 flyover ramps into Savannah in the 1960s led to the removal of Union Station, as well as two full city blocks, which had severe negative impacts on the African American community. A study about possibly removing the ramps was approved and funded by the Savannah City Council in December 2023. The study, which is listed as the I-16 Ramp Removal Study, will be managed by the Metropolitan Planning Commission, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), and the Federal Highway Administration. In March 2024, Georgia U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock announced that $1.8 million in federal funding had been allocated toward the planning of the project.

Exit list

State Route 404 Spur (SR 404 Spur) is a spur route that travels from I-16 exit 166 northward along US 17 to the South Carolina state line. As its number suggests, it is a spur from SR 404, the unsigned route that is designated along the full length of I-16. However, SR 404 Spur is actually a signed highway. Near the northern end is the Talmadge Memorial Bridge.

Exit list<br/>

Interstate 516

Interstate&nbsp;516 (I-516) is a auxiliary route from SR&nbsp;21 (Augusta Road) in Garden City to DeRenne Avenue in Savannah. It is also known as W.F. Lynes Parkway and has an unsigned designation of State Route&nbsp;421 (SR&nbsp;421).

See also

References

  • I-16 at the Interstate Guide