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East Paulding Drive (Paulding C.R. 230) was formerly part of S.R. 176, 92 Connector and 120 Connector, respectively. It connects S.R. 120 at the Cobb County line halfway between Marietta and Dallas to Old S.R. 381 (Dallas-Acworth Highway) in the New Hope community northeast of Dallas. The highway extends five miles and crosses S.R. 92 near the eastern terminus. A notable landmark near the highway is Picketts Mill Battlefield State Historic Site. It was originally known as Old Dallas Road, though it was never part of S.R. 120. HISTORY
Originally, GA 92 Connector followed what is today part of S.R. 6 Business in Dallas between Hardee Street, which was the original route of U.S. 278, and Old S.R. 381 (West Memorial Drive). This route existed from when it was built in 1940 to 1966 when S.R. 92 was relocated east and U.S. 278 was moved to this route. After the original S.R. 92 Connector was decommissioned, the designation was unused only for a shore time. The new designation would be placed on part of S.R. 176 along what was known until the late 1990's as Dragstrip Road, now East Paulding Drive. This was because, in 1969, S.R. 176 was relocated to Mars Hill Road in Cobb County. It had previously followed Dragstrip Road from around 1940. When this was done, this left a need for a new number for the route. In lieu of using an entirely new number, the highway was instead renumbered as a resurrected S.R. 92 Connector. This final route of S.R. 92 Connector was last state maintained in 1983 after its final life as S.R. 120 Connector. The 92 Connector designation references the fact the highway ended into S.R. 92 originally when S.R. 92 went through New Hope. S.R. 92 was relocated to present-day Hiram-Acworth Highway (formerly County Line Road) in 1972, but this did not affect S.R. 92 Connector throughout the 1970's, because the former route was still affiliated with S.R. 92. The reason this was acceptable was because it still connected to a route numbered 92 even though it was a Spur.
In 1979 or 1980, seven-mile long S.R. 92 Spur received its own route designation of S.R. 381, resulting in S.R. 92 Connector no longer ending into any road with the number 92 on either end. What the highway did end into was S.R. 120 on the eastern end, so the highway was changed to S.R. 120 Connector.
The problem with this new arrangement was that Paulding County had a glut of state highways at a bad time. The state was in the midst of revoking significant state route mileage, and Paulding had a large share for a county that was, at the time, sparsely populated. The state also planned to take over what was then C.R. 472 as a new S.R. 120 Connector, resulting in the decommissioning of Dragstrip Road.
For years after the decommissioning of what is today East Paulding Drive, the road was minimally maintained and had little traffic or development along it. It was, however, still signed for years with guide signs at its junction with S.R. 92 and S.R. 381, which undoubtably caused some confusion since it was indicated as a route to Dallas and Marietta, same as mainline S.R. 120. Today, the road is part of a very fast-growing county and is seeing the effects of suburban sprawl on both ends. While this did lead to better maintenance, there are no plans to upgrade the road any from its current state.
S.R. 92 CONNECTOR/120 CONNECTOR PHOTO S.R. 92 AND S.R. 120 MAIN PAGES AND BANNER ROUTES |
