Part freeway and part high speed arterial, S.R. 365 is one of the most major highways in Georgia. It extends from I-85 in Gwinnett County (near Suwannee) to the South Carolina State Line near Toccoa. In all, S.R. 365 forms a 69 mile highway serving northeast Georgia that is four lanes all except for a portion in Toccoa. The highway passes through the cities of Buford, Gainesville, Cornelia and Toccoa on its way to upstate South Carolina. Counties along the highway include Gwinnett, Hall, Habersham and Stephens. GA 365 is also known as Lanier Parkway along much of its length, and a major part of the route is also an interstate, I-985. It is in this portion that S.R. 365 is secret. Today, it shares that same mileage with S.R. 419 along I-985 making its existance south of Gainesville mostly useless today. The portion that S.R. 365 shares with I-985 is 23.9 miles long, and makes up 35% of the total distance of the highway. Also, all but 3.7 miles of the I-985/S.R. 365 overlap is shared with U.S. 23. I-985 ends at the interchange with S.R. 369 (an old alignment of U.S. 23 and S.R. 13) north of Gainesville where S.R. 365 surfaces as the overlap of U.S. 23. The end of I-985 is the first posted evidence of S.R. 365. Locals also prefer to call it S.R. 365 over other designations, especially on the portion north of I-985. The road extends from there to Cornelia as an expressway with at-grade intersections until Cornelia, where the road again becomes a freeway. This is also where the road continues into Habersham County. The freeway portion extends for two miles and contains three exits: S.R. 15 Connector/Level Grove Road (once part of U.S. 123), U.S. 441 and U.S. 441 Business (also S.R. 105 and S.R. 385). The first exit serves primarily as access to southbound S.R. 365 from U.S. 441 and from northbound S.R. 365 to U.S. 441 since the interchange of U.S. 441 and S.R. 365 lacks this access in those directions. The next exit is where U.S. 441/S.R. 15 joins S.R. 365 from Cornelia north to U.S. 123 near Clarkesville. North of U.S. 441 Business in Cornelia, S.R. 365 returns to an expressway with at-grade intersections. The exceptions are a grade separation and connector road with S.R. 197 and a partial interchange with U.S. 123. At U.S. 123 is where S.R. 365 leaves U.S. 23, 441 and S.R. 15. From there, S.R. 365 follows U.S. 123 the remainder of the route into South Carolina. Following U.S. 123, the road continues as a four-lane. The highway pics up S.R. 17 just beyond the split of U.S. 23, 441 and 123 and then continues a ways before entering Stephens County. S.R 365 makes a major shift again at the intersection of Old U.S. 123, which is also part of S.R. 184 where it crosses. It is there that the four-lane ends and U.S. 123 returns to its original route through Toccoa and into South Carolina. Also along this part, S.R. 365 follows its only two lane alignment following what was S.R. 13 when S.R. 13 was truncated to Gainesville in 1991. Here, S.R. 17 parts the route but picks up S.R. 184 since S.R. 365 currently does not following the Toccoa By-Pass. This is planned to change in the future, however, when the Toccoa By-Pass is completed back to S.R. 365 and U.S. 123 east of the city. From the intersection in the Boydville community into Toccoa, U.S. 123/S.R. 365 shares mileage with S.R. 184 before departing again near downtown. S.R. 365 then continues as a two-lane to the state line with U.S. 123, but ending when U.S. 123 continues across the backwaters of Lake Hartwell into the Palmetto State. S.R. 365 HISTORY AND PHOTOS If you would like to contribute photos or information to this page, please contact me. |
