One of the shortest mainline state routes, 2.3-mile GA 317 extends from I-85 in northern Gwinnett County to U.S. 23/GA 13 in Suwannee. Better known as Lawrenceville-Suwannee Road and a suburban route, the highway itself functions little in its configuration. However, in conjunction with Suwannee Dam Road to the north of where it ends at U.S. 23, the highway cuts off a severely congested section of GA 20 to the north through Buford for travelers coming from I-85.

Though the purpose of GA 317 today is unclear today except to serve Suwannee, the original purpose was actually quite significant. The origins of GA 317 trace back to 1959. That year, I-85 was extended further and opened up to the interchange with Lawrenceville-Suwannee Road. The result of this was that the interstate ended into a local road, posing an issue with major traffic being dumped onto a county road to return to U.S. 23 while the interstate remained incomplete. As a result of this, a year later the part of that county road that served as a transition was designated as GA 317.

Here is 1961 GHD map showing GA 317, I-85 and surrounding towns and cities. GA 316 was not yet complete when this map was published. Note the function of GA 317 at the time and the line extending south that is present-day Lawrenceville-Suwannee Road.

In all, the fact that this was not a temporary designation is what is odd. By 1965, I-85 opened and was fully completed all the way to Greenville. Still, GA 317 remained and still does today, serving a town that is largely just a large swath of land and suburbs designated as city with no actual downtown area. Changes have occured along GA 317, however since it was first commissioned. The entire route was four-laned in 1997 as a partly Gwinnett County-funded project. The widening project in that case actually involved the entire length of Lawrenceville-Suwannee Road and not just the state route portion.