Georgia State Route 108

State Route 108 marker

State Route 108
Route information
Maintained by GDOT
Length: 22.24 mi[1] (35.79 km)
Major junctions
South end: SR 20 in Sutallee
North end: SR 53 / SR 53 Bus. in Tate
Location
Counties: Cherokee, Pickens
Highway system
  • Georgia State Routes
SR 107SR 109

State Route 108 (SR 108) is a state highway running through northwestern Cherokee County and southern Pickens County in northwestern Georgia. The route begins at SR 20 in Sutallee and ends at the intersection of SR 53 and SR 53 Business in Tate.

Route description

SR 108 begins at its intersection with SR 20 in Sutallee in west-central Cherokee County, west of Canton and north of Lake Allatoona, and right in between I-75 and I-575. The route heads north, locally known as Fincher Road, in the direction of Lake Arrowhead, before angling slightly to the northeast to pass the lake to its east, and runs into Waleska, just northeast of the Lake Arrowhead. In Waleska, SR 108 crosses SR 140 and passes Reinhardt College, which is located at the intersection of the two routes, before continuing northeast through northern Cherokee County and into south-central Pickens County, paralleling I-575 to this point.[1][2][3]

Just inside Pickens County, the route makes a sudden turn to the southeast at its intersection with Henderson Mountain Road, nearly crosses back into Cherokee County, and then curves sharply to the north to run through the community of Cagle. In Cagle, SR 108 turns to the northeast and crosses SR 5/SR 53/SR 515, just north of where I-575 ends and these routes continue north as the Appalachian Highway. East of SR 5, the route, known as Waleska Highway in Pickens County, picks up a concurrency with SR 53 and runs east into Tate, where SR 108 terminates at its intersection with SR 53 Business, and where SR 53 continues east in the direction of Dawson County.[1][2][3]

Traffic

The Georgia Department of Transportation average annual daily traffic (AADT) numbers for the year 2011 show a steady increase of the daily average vehicle load as SR 108 travel south to north. From its southern terminus, the average load increases from 1,380 vehicles to 1,630 vehicles per day as the route approaches Waleska, then increases more rapidly to just under 3,000 vehicles north of Waleska, with 10% of those vehicles being trucks. Number decrease just slightly again in northern Cherokee County and southern Pickens County, with averages hovering around 2,700 vehicles, then jump sharply to stay around 5,000 vehicles both west and east of SR 5.[3]

History

The first portion of the roadway that is signed as SR 108 today makes its appearance on Georgia state road maps in the middle of 1933, when a route signed as SR 108, and measuring 19.6 miles (31.5 km), ran from Jasper, at the intersection of SR 5 and SR 53 at the time, north into Cartecay in Lumpkin County, to what was then signed as SR 43, and which corresponds to SR 52 today.[4] This route took vehicle traffic from Atlanta via SR 5 and SR 108 to the community of Tate Mountain Estates, a summer retreat planned by Colonel Sam Tate for wealthy Atlantans.[5]

In the middle of 1941, the first roadway corresponding to today's routing of SR 108 appears, with the construction of a stretch of road, designated as SR 154, and measuring 9.2 miles (14.8 km), which ran north from what was then signed as SR 20 (and today is SR 140) in Waleska. It merged with a roadway to the south of SR 53, what is today called Henderson Mountain Road, which was designated as SR 143 at the time. SR 143 covered the portion of today's SR 108 from this intersection to Tate, the present northern terminus. From there, using SR 5 northbound for 5.0 miles (8.0 km), travelers were then able to connect to what was actually designated as SR 108 at the time.[6]

By 1946, no additional roadway had been added to this picture; however, the route which had been designated SR 154 from Waleska, had been re-signed as SR 156, and the road intersecting what had been SR 154, and forming the southern terminus of that route, had been changed from a designation of SR 20 to the present designation of SR 140.[7] It was 1963 before the next significant change on this route took place, when a connecting route, signed SR 108, was constructed from its intersection with SR 143 west of Tate, to Jasper, picking up and extending the original roadway signed as SR 108.[8] This new stretch of roadway would eventually end up being removed from the state route system, and is named Refuge Road/South Main Street.

In 1969, about 6 years later, the missing portion of today's routing, from SR 20 to Waleska, was first indicated as a connecting county route on Georgia state highway maps. This county route connected to SR 156 in Waleska, which connected to SR 143, which in turn connected to SR 108, and ran through Jasper to SR 52 in Cartecay.[9] It was then 1972 before this missing piece was integrated into the state route system, when this portion was designated as part of SR 156.[10]

In 1979, the parts of the route that had been signed as SR 156 were re-designated as SR 108, which extended this designation from SR 20 all the way up to SR 52 in Lumkpin County. The one remaining portion of SR 143, from SR 108 to Tate, was renumbered as SR 108 Connector.[11] At the start of 1983, SR 108 had assumed its present routing. This meant that the former SR 108 Connector had been made part of the main route, and the entire portion north of Tate into Jasper and on into Lumkin County had been removed from the state route system.[12] Finally, until 2007, the main route of SR 53 ran through downtown Jasper, following what is today signed as SR 53 Business. In 2006-2007, this route was realigned to follow SR 5/515 south, and is then concurrent with SR 108 running east to its northern terminus in Tate.[13]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
CherokeeSutallee0.000.00 SR 20 (Knox Bridge Road) Cartersville, CantonSouthern terminus at SR 20
Waleska9.17714.769 SR 140 (Reinhardt College Parkway) Adairsville, Canton
Pickens20.04232.254 SR 5 / SR 53 west / SR 515 (Appalachian Highway) Canton, Ellijay, FairmountWestern terminus of concurrency with SR 53
Tate22.23635.785 SR 53 east / SR 53 Bus. north Dawsonville, JasperEastern terminus of concurrency with SR 53; southern terminus at SR 53 Business
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "County GIS Base map shapefiles/geodatabases (varies by county)". Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Google (1 November 2012). "GA-108" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Geographic Transportation Reporting Analysis and Query System (GeoTRAQS) (Map). Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  4. Staff. State of Georgia System of State Roads (PDF) (Map) (August 1933 ed.). State Highway Department of Georgia. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  5. "Communities in Pickens County". Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  6. State of Georgia System of State Roads (PDF) (Map). State Highway Department of Georgia. July 1, 1941. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  7. State of Georgia System of State Roads (PDF) (Map). State Highway Department of Georgia. November 7, 1946. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  8. State of Georgia Highway System and Connections (PDF) (Map). Georgia Department of Transportation. June 1, 1963. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  9. State of Georgia Highway System and Connections (PDF) (Map). Georgia Department of Transportation. January 1969. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  10. State of Georgia Highway System and Connections (PDF) (Map). Georgia Department of Transportation. January 1972. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  11. State of Georgia Highway System and Connections (PDF) (Map). Georgia Department of Transportation. January 1979. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  12. Staff (January 1983). State of Georgia Highway System and Connections (PDF) (Map). Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  13. Staff. Georgia Official Highway and Transportation (PDF) (Map) (2007 ed.). Georgia Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2013.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

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