State Route 6 (SR 6) is a state highway that travels northwest-to-southeast in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is known as Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway, Jimmy Campbell Parkway, Nathan Dean Parkway, and Wendy Bagwell Parkway in Paulding County; C.H. James Parkway in Cobb County; Thornton Road in Douglas County; and Camp Creek Parkway and honorarily as Tuskegee Airmen Parkway in Fulton and Clayton counties. It begins at the Alabama state line, where it is concurrent with US 278. Here, US 278 enters Alabama, concurrent with the unsigned state highway SR 74. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 85 (I-85) west of the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Route description
SR 6 starts at the Alabama state line, southwest of Cedartown, and northwest of Esom Hill in Polk County, and initially heads east to Cedartown, concurrent with US 278 from its western terminus. Skirting Cedartown around the south, the highway continues east to Rockmart, where it turns sharply to the south and then southeast into Paulding County and Dallas. Bypassing Dallas to the south, SR 6 continues traveling to the southeast and travels through the southwestern corner of Cobb County, through Powder Springs, to Austell in Douglas County.
In Lithia Springs, the highway approaches the intersection with US 78/SR 5/SR 8, where US 278 turns left and joins a concurrency with US 78 as far east as Druid Hills, while SR 6 continues southeast where it has an intersection with Maxham Drive, a local boulevard spanning from the Westfork Shopping Center through SR 5, and later crosses over I-20, where it has a partial cloverleaf and half-diamond interchange. Forming the county line between Cobb and Douglas counties, the highway continues traveling to the southeast, and crosses the Chattahoochee River into Fulton County. Curving to the east, the highway crosses I-285 and reaches its eastern terminus at the western edge of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in College Park.
The entire length of SR 6 is part of the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be the most important for the nation's economy, mobility, and defense.
History
SR 6 was established at least as early as 1919 from SR 1 in Cedartown east-southeast through Dallas to SR 8 in Austell. By the end of September 1921, it was extended westward to the Alabama state line. By October 1926, US 78 was designated on SR 8 at SR 6's eastern terminus. About 20 years later, between the beginning of 1945 and November 1946, the entire segment from Alabama to Austell was hard surfaced. Between June 1954 and June 1955, US 278 was designated on the entire original segment. Between June 1963 and the end of 1965, SR 6 was extended south-southwest on US 78/SR 8 to a point south-southwest of Austell and then on a sole path southeast to I-20; this entire extension was hard surfaced. At this time, Camp Creek Parkway was established from Welcome All Road west-southwest of College Park to US 29/SR 14 in the city. Between the beginning of 1963 and the beginning of 1969, a northern bypass of the main part of Rockmart was built from US 278/SR 6 west-northwest of the city to SR 113 in the northwestern part of the city. By the beginning of 1974, an eastern bypass of the main part of Rockmart was proposed from US 278/SR 6/SR 100 southeast of Van Wert north-northwest and north to SR 113 in the northwest part of Rockmart. In 1976, SR 139 was rerouted westward just west of the Atlanta Airport, onto the path of US 29/SR 14. Due to this, Camp Creek Parkway was extended eastward to I-85. Between the beginning of 1979 and March 1980, Camp Creek Parkway was extended westward to Old Fairburn Road and northwest to Butner Road. Between the beginning of 1979 and the beginning of 1982, SR 6's path in Cedartown was shifted westward one block, replacing the entire length of SR 6 Loop. In 1983, a western bypass of Powder Springs, Clarkdale, and Austell, designated as SR 726, was proposed from an unnumbered road south-southwest of Powder Springs to US 78/SR 5/SR 8 southwest of Austell.