Interstate 59 in Georgia

Like all other Interstate, U.S., and state highways in Georgia, I-59 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length in the state.^[7] The Interstate carries one of the lowest amounts of annual average daily traffic, with the highest amount in 2023 being approximately 22,100 vehicles at the I-24 interchange.^[8] The lowest amount was approximately 15,200 vehicles near the Alabama state line.^[8]

I-59 enters Dade County, Georgia, from DeKalb County, Alabama, into the Eastern Time Zone. From here, it becomes parallel with US 11. Unusually, I-59 does not have a rest area for travelers coming into the state compared to other Interstates.^[9] Skirting along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, I-59 makes a gradual curve to the north and runs along the slopes of Fox Mountain. It then curves slightly northwest and reaches its first interchange with Deer Head Cove Road at milepost 4, providing access to Rising Fawn and a small sprinkle of development. Turning back north and then to the northeast, I-59 crosses the Crawfish Creek before curving slightly northeast and then north again. The Interstate passes the Southeast Lineman Training Center as it enters the city of Trenton. Entering small amounts of development again, I-59 reaches its next interchange with SR 136 (White Oak Gap Road) for downtown Trenton as well as access to the welcome center and Cloudland Canyon State Park.^[10][11] The Interstate bypasses Trenton to the west and immediately crosses Town Creek leaving the interchange.^[12][13]

 

From here, I-59 turns northeast again, leaving Trenton and entering rural areas once more. It makes a brief curve north and slightly descends the incline. It crosses two streams in brief succession before turning northeast once again, curving along the slopes of Sand Mountain, and reaching its final interchange with Slygo Road and the unincorporated community of New England at a diamond interchange. Continuing in the northeast direction, I-59 approaches Slygo Valley, paralleling Slygo Road to the east of it for a couple more miles whilst passing underneath Dugan Loop Road. Before long, I-59 slowly descends once again into the bottom of Raccoon Mountain and the foothills of Lookout Mountain where it reaches its northern terminus at a full wye interchange with I-24, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee.^[12][13]

I-59 was part of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the program which designated the Interstate Highways around the nation. Its proposed route was to run roughly the same as it is today, from the Alabama state line to Trenton.^[2] On January 17, 1963, the federal government would pay approximately $94 million of the costs launched in the Highway Act by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to link all of the cities in the nation with Interstate Highways. Of these projects, one of them included the stretch of I-59 from the Alabama state line to Trenton, at a distance of approximately 11.38 miles (18.31 km) was under construction. This stretch had a cost of approximately $6.3 million and an estimated completion date of two years later.^[14]

 

On December 22, 1967, GDOT announced that a contract would be let on February 9, 1968, to complete I-59 through the state. This contract would provide construction of 11.38 miles (18.31 km) of grading, drainage, and bridges along I-59. Emory C. Parrish, executive assistant to the director, said that the project would be the last link to I-59, part of the route from Birmingham, Alabama, to Chattanooga. The route was not considered important, but due to the Bureau of Public Roads persuading them, it was required to be built. The project had an estimated cost of approximately $9.8 million.^[15] On September 10, 1968, the interchange with I-24, where I-59 would end, was completed. Also, an 8.1-mile (13.0 km) section of I-59 was opened to traffic from the SR 143 (now SR 136) interchange to I-24, raising the number of miles in Georgia's Interstate system to 612 miles (985 km) that were open to traffic.^[16] On May 21, 1970, the State Highway Department announced that bids for an estimated amount of $18.1 in construction would be let on May 29. Of these bids, $11.3 million was also scheduled to include the last section of I-59.^[17] On October 25, 1971, the State Highway Department announced that the last 11.8-mile (19.0 km) section of the Interstate Highway through Dade County was finished and opened to traffic, completing the Georgia segment of I-59 as a whole.^[18]

The entire route is in Dade County.

Location	mi[19]	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
​	0.00	0.00			I-59 south – Gadsden, Birmingham	Continuation into Alabama; southern end of unsigned SR 406 concurrency
Module:Jctint/USA warning: Unused argument(s): cspan
​	4.1	6.6	1	4	Rising Fawn	Access via Deer Head Cove Road
Trenton	11.5	18.5	2	11	SR 136 (White Oak Gap Road) – Trenton	To the Georgia Welcome Center and to the Cloudland Canyon State Park
​	17.3	27.8	3	17	Slygo Road – New England
​	19.5	31.4	4	–	I-24 – Nashville, Chattanooga	Northern terminus; full wye interchange; northern end of unsigned SR 406 concurrency; old exit 4 was I-24 west; I-24 exit 167
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus