A major suburban route of Atlanta, S.R. 120 extends 93 miles (82 not overlapped with other routes) from S.R. 100 in Buchanan to S.R. 20/124 in Lawrenceville. The highway passes through five counties: Haralson, Paulding, Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett. In Cobb, Paulding and Fulton, the roadway is four laned along substantial portions. The highway begins in Haralson County in the City of Tallapoosa. From there, it is a 30-mile long rural highway continuing east through the county seat of Buchanan to U.S. 278 in Dallas. The route remains rural before entering Paulding County where it becomes Buchanan Highway until it reaches U.S. 278. Its first banner route, S.R. 120 Connector, joins the route four miles west of U.S. 278 in Paulding County and connects the highway to Hiram. In Dallas, the roadway then joins and overlaps with U.S. 278/S.R. 6 where it is four lanes from there to Marietta. The roadway follows the by-pass south of Dallas over a distance of four miles, oddly paralleled by S.R. 120 Connector to the south. East of Dallas, the road then turns northeast along Charles Hardy Parkway (also known as Marietta Highway) towards Marietta, overlapping S.R. 360 for approximately two miles. This four-lane divided roadway continues for 10 miles further east before merging into two lanes near Marietta. It also enters Cobb County at this point, changing names to Dallas Highway. Just west of the Cobb County line, East Paulding Drive (formerly Dragstrip Road) intersects, which was formerly another older route of S.R. 120 Connector. At John Ward Road, S.R. 120 reverts back to a two-lane roadway. This is the portion that passes through Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and the City of Marietta. The portion west of Marietta has been hotly contested over various proposals to widen it, and it has been fought by local residents as well as the Park Service. In this area, the road changes name to Whitlock Avenue where many Victorian homes line both sides of the roadway leading into downtown. Nevertheless, it has a brief divided portion in front of Marietta High School as well as a center turn lane between Burnt Hickory Road and Lindley Avenue. In downtown, the roadway intersects S.R. 5 and S.R. 120 Loop. S.R. 120 Loop was created in part because of the impossibility of widening the highway through downtown Marietta, so no proposals have ever been presented to widen the route between the western side of S.R. 120 Loop and U.S. 41 (Cobb Parkway). Past the center of Marietta, the road name changes to Roswell Street, a two-lane roadway with a center turn lane, from Church Street east to U.S. 41. At U.S. 41, the roadway again widens to five lanes and changes names to Roswell Road. The intersection with U.S. 41 is very famous because of a very unusual Kentucky Fried Chicken location topped with a 6 1/2 story metal chicken complete with rolling eyes and a constantly opening and closing beak. This landmark, known as the "Big Chicken" was originally built by a local fast food joint known as Johnny Rebs and was restored in 1993 after structural problems combined with a tornado almost led to its demolition (1). The roadway east of here back to S.R. 120 Loop is an inner-ring suburban community locally known as East Marietta, and it features one of the oldest strip malls in the Atlanta area, built in 1958. Another distinction of this stretch is that Roswell Road passes under, but does not connect, to I-75. Access to I-75 requires using either side of S.R. 120 Loop north or south of S.R. 120. Past the interchange that marks the easternmost point of S.R. 120 Loop, S.R. 120 reverts back to a four-lane divided highway entering "East Cobb". This is one of the most upscale suburbs in the Atlanta area. The roadway through here continues east into Fulton County and the City of Roswell. In Roswell, Roswell Road changes to Marietta Street, which terminates at S.R. 9 (Atlanta Street). S.R. 120 then begins a six-mile overlap with S.R. 9 from downtown Roswell to Alpharetta, the former county seat of defunct Milton County. From there, the roadway turns east as a six-lane divided highway known as Old Milton Parkway (originally State Bridge Road) east to Kimball Bridge Road. At Kimball Bridge Road, the highway then turns northeast along part of Kimball Bridge Road. This is the end of the divided highway. This is also where the roadway leaves Alpharetta and enters Johns Creek. The road from there is two lanes to I-85. The roadway also changes names to Abbotts Bridge Road past the intersection with the county portion of that road and later becomes Duluth Highway entering Gwinnett. A bridge across the Chattahoochee River divides Fulton and Gwinnett. At I-85, the roadway again becomes four lanes in two places. The first is between Satellite Boulevard just west of I-85 east to Sugarloaf Parkway and again a short distance east from Riverside Parkway to S.R. 316. East of S.R. 316, the roadway enters Lawrenceville becoming West Pike Street and joining U.S. 29 before ending at S.R. 20/124. In all, this lengthy highway is not an easy road to travel. Numerous lights, heavy traffic and often low speeds make this a stressful route. Much of the route also is a major area of suburban sprawl with endless shopping centers, businesses and subdivisions. Nevertheless, the historic towns in Dallas, Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta, Duluth and Lawrenceville make for interesting locales along the highway. In addition, Kennesaw Mountain is one of the most visited and enjoyable places along the route for both Civil War enthusiasts and just those looking for a little greenspace among all the sprawl. S.R. 120 HISTORY, BANNER ROUTES AND PHOTO GALLERY SOURCES
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