US 341 in Georgia

According to Ablogtophone, US 341 is a US Highway in the United States, located entirely in the state of Georgia. US 341 runs from Brunswick on the coast to Barnesville just south of Atlanta. The road is a major thoroughfare and has 2×2 lanes between Brunswick and Perry on I-75. The road is 364 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The road begins on the south side of Brunswick, on US 17, the road from Jacksonville to Savannah. The road then runs through the center of town and then crosses Interstate 95. The road is then double numbered with US 25. The road has 2×2 lanes and runs through densely wooded area to the northwest. US 25 exits in Jesup and then continues northeast via US 84. It also crosses US 301, the road from Folkston to the north. The road then bends slightly to the west and runs through an area with lots of forest and small villages. In Baxley one crosses the US 1, the road from Waycross to Augusta. About 25 kilometers later, in Hazlehurst the US 23 merges from Waycross. Both roads will be double numbered for the time being. Then 40 kilometers to the town of McRae, a major intersection, where you intersect US 280, the minor road between Columbus and Savannah, US 319, the road from Tifton to Augusta, and US 441, the road from Lake City in Florida to Athens in the north.

Then follow 30 kilometers to Eastman, where US 23 exits towards Macon. Thirty miles further on, at the village of Hawkinsville, you cross US 129, the road from Valdosta to Macon. The road then continued for about 20 miles until Perry at Interstate 75. After that, the road is less important and only has 2×1 lanes. You pass through Fort Valley, and the road intersects at Roberta with US 80, the road from Columbus to Macon. The road then ends about 50 miles away in Barnesville on US 41, the minor road from Macon to Atlanta.

History

The start of US 341 at Brunswick.

US 341 was one of the original US Highways of 1926 and at the time ran between Brunswick and US 41 in Perry. In 1948 it was extended to the northwest, to US 41 in Barnesville. Between Perry and Barnesville, US 41 and US 341 run parallel to each other, with US 41 passing through the larger town of Macon.

Barnesville

The Barnesville bypass is no longer part of US 341, but was one of the first upgrades of the entire route at the time, a 2×2 bypass was built around the west side of Barnesville in the 1960s. Later, an easterly bypass was constructed for US 41, shortening US 341 to the south side of Barnesville and leaving the bypass only part of US 41.

Brunswick – Perry

In the 1980s, a start was made to widen the 275-kilometre stretch from Brunswick to I-75 near Perry into a 2×2 divided highway. The upgrade mainly took place outside the villages and places on the route, as a bypass has only been built in a small number of places. In the mid-1980s, the first section between Hazlehurst and Lumber City was widened to 2×2 lanes, which was also part of US 23. In the late 1980s, the southeast portion between Brunswick and I-95 was also widened to 2×2 lanes. In the early 1990s, an Eastman diversion was also completed, one of the few bypasses of US 341.

Most of US 341 has been widened to 2×2 lanes as part of the Governor’s Road Improvement Program. This largely happened in the 1990s and early 2000s. In particular, the middle section was the first to be driven over long stretches with 2×2 lanes. By 2005, the entire doubling was complete. A new 2×2 bypass has been constructed on the south side of Perry that connects directly to I-75. This route was put into service about 1994, but is not formally part of US 341, although it does handle most through traffic from I-75 to US 341.