What was at the time the Georgia Highway Department had quite a bit of trouble in its history deciding where to put particular routes. None has ever caused them more trouble than S.R. 64. This highway is today a route of little consequence that fragments its way across southeastern Georgia from Ray City to southeastern Coffee County. Its northern portion is basically a side trip to Douglas that takes you 16 miles further than U.S. 441 with the rest of the highway not being fast enough to be a shortcut.

S.R. 64 does have one claim of legitimacy, however, and that is that it cuts through the county seat of Atkinson County, Pearson. Aside from Atkinson, S.R. 64 also passes through parts of Berrien, Lanier, Clinch and previously mentioned Coffee counties over a course of 51 miles. The highway also overlaps with parts of S.R. 135, 168, 31 (U.S. 441), 89 and 520 along it course. In fact, over 30 percent of the highway actually follows other routes, meaning 35 miles are actual mileage for S.R. 64.

How a secondary road like S.R. 64 got to be a state highway is strange enough, but what is even stranger is how many changes the highway made in order to get it where it is today. At its peak, S.R. 64 was nearly 120 miles long in three nearby, but independent sections. As you will see, a plan did exist for this highway, but its history is very difficult to both understand and explain. No doubt, the Highway Department saw it equally as problematic which is why it took decades to get this highway to what is left of it today. As a result, the history section about S.R. 64 is divided into a timeline.

S.R. 64 is obviously a remnant of a failed grandiose proposal, and a highway very likely to disappear in the future. It is in a part of Georgia that is growing little, and the route basically serves no regional purpose. If another large-scale turnback of routes occurs during this century, this will be a very likely candidate to revert to county maintenance after a history of being a lengthy and at times very important highway.

S.R. 64 HISTORY AND PHOTO GALLERY