Georgia State Route 174

GA 174, located in Madison and Franklin Counties, is an odd highway in two sections joined by an overlap with U.S. 29. The 6.8-mile Madison County section on the southern end of the route is the more heavily traveled section of roadway, connecting GA 106 in Ila northeast to U.S. 29 en route to Royston. In conjunction with GA 106, the route forms a quasi-bypass route west of Danielsville. When the southern section joins U.S. 29, the route runs common with U.S. 29 for 1.5 miles across the county line. Shortly across the line past the Hudson River bridge, GA 174 nearly reverses direction, turning northwest along Salem Road, a sparsely traveled 4.5-mile stretch of the route ending at GA 51 in the Sandy Cross community.

If the route today looks strange, it is because the highway did not originally exist in two sections. The original GA 174 consisted only of the Madison County section. Entirely unpaved originally, the highway was graded in the mid-1950's and fully paved by the late 1950's.

Along with numerous other state takeovers of county roads in the area around 1960, GA 174 was extended 6 miles further into Franklin County. This extension gave the highway the distinctive backwards L shape it has today and created the overlap with U.S. 29. The extension was fully paved upon commissioning as well. No changes have occured along the highway since that time.

Georgia 174 Termini Gallery

All photos below by J.T. Legg

Southern Terminus: GA 106 north of Ila
Photo 1: Assembly on northbound GA 106. Note the sharp angle intersection. Photo 2: Old-style assembly on southbound GA 106. Photo 3: Guide sign on northbound GA 106. Photo 4: Junction assembly on southbound GA 106. End signage and a first reassurance shield were missing. All photos taken August 21, 2004.
Northern Terminus: GA 51 in the Sandy Cross community west of Franklin Springs
Photo 1: End signage. Photos 2-4: Directional assembly, guide sign behind directional assembly and junction assembly all on eastbound GA 51. A first reassurance shield was missing. Photos 1, 2 and 4 taken July 17, 2004. Photo 3 taken November 2003.