Ronald Reagan Parkway (RRP) is a
controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...
located in the northeastern part of the
Atlanta metropolitan area
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...
in the U.S. state of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
. Its route is entirely within the south-central portion of
Gwinnett County
Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, being located about northeast of Atlanta city limits. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the ...
, connecting the
Lilburn area with
Snellville. It is named after
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
, the 40th
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
. The highway was spearheaded by then-Gwinnett County chairman Wayne Mason in the mid-1990s.
Route description
The parkway begins at an
intersection
In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...
with Pleasant Hill Road, northeast of
Lilburn. It passes just north of Browne Lake and has an
interchange
Interchange may refer to:
Transport
* Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways
* Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies
* Interchange station, a rai ...
with
U.S. Route 29
U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United Stat ...
(US 29) and
State Route 8 (SR 8; Lawrenceville Highway). On the northeast side of Bethesda Park is an interchange with Bethesda Church Road, which partially travels through the park. After crossing over the
Yellow River
The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
, it curves to the southeast and has an interchange with Five Forks–Trickum Road. Then, it meets Webb Gin House Road SW and passes to the west of Eastside Medical Center. At Presidential Circle, the freeway portion of the parkway ends and it continues to the southeast
at-grade At-grade may refer to:
*At-grade intersection, a crossing between roads on the same level
* Road junction
*Level crossing, where a road or path crosses a railway on the same level
* Diamond crossing, where two railway tracks cross
* At-grade railway ...
. Approximately later, the parkway intersects
SR 124 (Scenic Highway SW). Here, the roadway continues to the southeast as Pinehurst Road SW.
All of Ronald Reagan Parkway is included as part of the
National Highway System, a system of roadways important to the nation's economy, defense, and mobility.
History
The parkway was established in 1995 along the same alignment it runs today.
For a short period of time, the parkway had an unsigned designation of State Route 864 (SR 864), even though it is considered a
county road
A county highway (also county road or county route; usually abbreviated CH or CR) is a road in the United States and in the Canadian province of Ontario that is designated and/or maintained by the county highway department. Route numbering can ...
.
In 2009, new plans were developed to extend Ronald Reagan Parkway as a
toll road
A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...
to directly connect with
I-85
Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...
. On June 23, 2009, Gwinnett County voted to approve a partnership with a private firm to study extending the Ronald Reagan Parkway to I-85. The study cost $1.4 million and was funded by the County.
The plans were abandoned in February 2013 due to public concerns about tolls, potential traffic and the road path.
Exit list
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
Transportation in Gwinnett County, Georgia
Monuments and memorials to Ronald Reagan
Parkways in the United States