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Cartersville Vicinity

The Cartersville Vicinity Gallery includes photos of roads in Bartow and eastern Polk County. Bartow itself is a county with a lot of very interesting roads for a county that was once largely rural. As a result, photos are quite extensive on this site. The Cartersville gallery also features a new page, The Historic Bridges of Bartow County, to showcase the very old iron and wooden bridges in the county and any others similar that are far more plentiful in Bartow than in any other county in the region. While Bartow was simply slow to replace the numerous structures they had, they left a wealth of historical treasures in a state that has mostly eliminated such things. Several of these bridges were originally featured here and were moved to the new page with additional photos and content.
Old-style junction assembly on GA 61 southbound in downtown Cartersville. GA 113 crosses here, 61 joins 113 and 293 continues straight ahead. Photo taken February 19, 2005.
I-75 makes a big sweeping curve over Allatoona Road, which mysteriously is not part of GA 293. The overpass in the background is a major railroad.
In Pine Log, this faded guide sign once reassured traffic on westbound GA 140 that Adairsville was 14 miles in their future. In 1994, this section of GA 140 was decommissioned in favor of a better constructed route. This and the next three photos taken February 19, 2005.
The same Pine Log section features a very attractive and well-preserved old-style junction assembly complete with the black banner.
And just beyond that sign is a one-lane tunnel that you must pass through to reach U.S. 411. This tunnel prevented trucks from using the route, but is superior to the current route of GA 140, because the current route has an at-grade railroad crossing. I used this old route a lot over several years to avoid that, and of course, because this way was more fun.
Close-up detail of the tunnel. I did replace the reflectors under the object marker on the left side. Don't worry Bartow County, those are fully GDOT standard. Now why won't you consider replacing the signs...with current GDOT standard signage?
On Old U.S. 41 in Adairsville, this complete trailblazer assembly labels all the nearby routes. This was installed in the late 1970's or early 1980's by GDOT in the town, obviously part of a long-defunct state maintenance agreement for roads within the city limits. All evidence of state maintenance ends where the city limits end. This and the next five photos were taken May 7, 2005.
A side street also features this even older trailblazer. Note the spooky looking house next to it.
Old U.S. 41 both north and south of Adairsville feature these historic bridges that likely date to the 1920's. This bridge is over a small spring-fed branch, and has all the fixins' of an early 20th century concrete structure.
Very picturesque side view of the structure. The property owner gave me permission to take these pics when I was out there.
Further up is another old-style bridge, though a little more 1930's standard than the one further south. Once again, this crosses a small creek though bigger than the one further down.
Even further south, modern U.S. 41 (1950's, that is) crosses at a sharp angle to Old U.S. 41. The design certainly left little room for expansion.
Down in Polk County, this two-lane truss bridge may be found on Davis Town Road south of Adairsville. Crossing Hills Creek, the structure is an attractive pony truss from the era. This and the next three photos were all taken February 19, 2005.
Attempting to walk underneath the bridge, full side views proved impossible because of briars, barbwire fences and steep banks. One thing very troubling about this bridge was a noticeable sag in the middle of it that was clearly visible from underneath.
Another side view of the approaches. Hills Creek was an unbelievably clean and clear looking creek, which in most places are rare. Its source waters are in the hills around a major fault line that begins the Piedmont Plateau, and so far are yet to be heavily developed.
Back in Adairsville, another part of Old U.S. 41 north of town runs shotgun with the current route. While modern U.S. 41 has all culverts here, the old route features more of these classic bridge structures from the 1920's and 1930's. Photo taken February 19, 2005.
Down in Cartersville, this attractive old bridge where U.S. 41 crosses GA 61 was built in 1952 as part of the interchange there for the highway. Unfortunately, this very antiquated interchange is now a major choking point for the area, and a new route is proposed for U.S. 411, which jumps from GA 61 to U.S. 41 there. Photo taken December 30, 2004.
Further up U.S. 41 is the trumpet interchange where U.S. 411 and 41 split. U.S. 41 goes to Calhoun, U.S. 411 to Rome. This once served as the eastern terminus for GA 344, and soon this interchange will be ripped to shreds to build the new U.S. 411 connector to I-75. Photo taken December 30, 2004.
A look at the overpass at the same interchange. More detailed photos are still needed for this interchange. Photo taken December 30, 2004.
A unique junction assembly of an interstate and state route. GA 20 Spur was originally GA 294, thus the extra space for the three-digit sign. The state highway turns just before the interstate in the background, which opened there in 1977. Photo taken December 30, 2004.
GA 293 Connector is an extremely short highway serving as access from U.S. 41 to the highway. The highway itself is actually part of the old alignment of U.S. 41, which continues to the right of this pic through Cassville and down along GA 293 into Cartersville. Photo taken December 30, 2004.
Part of GA 293 was decommissioned in 1997 from the Bartow County Line to the U.S. 41 interchange in Emerson. What was left behind was this junction assembly with the GA 293 added upon decommissioning. Kudzu continues to try to bury this sign. Photo taken August 17, 2004.
One of two narrow railroad tunnels on GA 293. This one is just south of the city. Both are scheduled to be replaced soon and GA 293 through Cartersville will likely be decommissioned once work on these is completed. Photo taken December 26, 2005.
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