U.S. Route 129 (US 129) is an

auxiliary route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the In ...

US 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, Maryland, in the Eastern United States, connect ...

, which it

intersects In set theory, the intersection of two sets A and B, denoted by A \cap B, is the set containing all elements of A that also belong to B or equivalently, all elements of B that also belong to A. Notation and terminology Intersection is writt ...

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

. US 129 currently runs for from an intersection with US 19/ US 27 ALT/ US 98 in

Chiefland, Florida Chiefland is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,316 at the 2020 census, up from 2,245 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History A village of the Timucua ...

, to 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

Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States, southeastern and Southwestern United States, southwestern portions of the United States. At a leng ...

(I-40) in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. It passes through the states of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. It goes through the cities of Macon,

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Gainesville, and

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. The section that is located beside Deals Gap on the North Carolina–Tennessee state line is known as or from its winding course. It is a popular motorcycle and sports car destination. This segment runs from Tab Cat Creek to Deals Gap and has about 318 curves in this 11 mile section.

Route description

Florida

US 129 begins at US 19/US 27 Alternate/US 98 in Chiefland, Florida, along hidden SR 47 until it reaches SR 26 in Trenton. From there, the road is signed along hidden SR 49. It then moves west, briefly overlapping US 27 (hidden SR 20) and heads north again in Branford, before that road intersects SR 349, which used to also serve as US 129 Alternate. From here, it intersects with US 90/ SR 51 in

Live Oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

, taking SR 51 as the new hidden state road, then meets

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the originall ...

at exit 283, and later

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end ...

at exit 451. During a concurrency with US 41 in

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, US 129 loses SR 51 as a hidden route after the concurrency ends and runs northwest along SR 100 into Georgia.

Georgia

US 129 provides the primary route between

central Georgia Central Georgia is an eleven-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north, and is anchored by both the Macon metropolitan area, Georgia, Macon and Warner Robins, GA Met ...

and

. It approaches Athens from the south where it joins SR 10 Loop, a mostly interstate-grade bypass that rings Athens-Clarke County. Here US 129 turns right, toward the northeast, where it runs concurrently with US 78/

/ US 441/ SR 15 (and unsigned SR 422) along the bypass. US 129 intersects with US 29 northeast of Athens and continues along SR 10 Loop westward before exiting at Jefferson Road where it winds northwesterly towards Gainesville as one of several routes to

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 ...

from Athens.

North Carolina

From the Georgia state line, it travels northeast to Topton, where it goes north to Robbinsville followed by

, through Deals Gap.

Tennessee

US 129 enters Tennessee to the west of

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southeastern United States, southeast, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline o ...

and rides along

Chilhowee Lake Chilhowee Dam is a hydroelectric dam located in Blount County, Tennessee, Blount and Monroe County, Tennessee, Monroe counties, Tennessee, United States, between river mile 33 and 34 on the Little Tennessee River. Construction began in 1955 and wa ...

for a short distance before turning due north. In this stretch after the Tennessee–North Carolina state line, drivers will encounter 318 curves in a distance of around 11 miles. These curves make this stretch of highway a well-known motorcycle/sports car destination named Tail Of The Dragon. On weekends, through spring to the fall months, visitors are likely to see numerous riders and drivers on this stretch of the highway to experience the thrill and scenery. US 129 then travels due north, becoming known as Alcoa Highway and passing through the city of Maryville. It travels through

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

, passing by

McGhee Tyson Airport McGhee Tyson Airport is a public/military airport south of Knoxville, Tennessee, Knoxville,. Federal Aviation Administration. effective April 17, 2025. in Alcoa, Tennessee. It is named for United States Navy pilot Charles McGhee Tyson, who wa ...

, and then intersecting I-140. US 129 then crosses the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

on the James E. "Buck" Karnes Bridge into

. Shortly thereafter, US 129 becomes a

limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...

for a short distance. It has an interchange with US 11/ US 70 immediately after entering Knoxville. Shortly thereafter, US 129 meets its northern terminus, an interchange with I-40.

Major intersections

;Florida : in Chiefland : east-southeast of Branford. The highways travel concurrently to Branford. : in

: north-northeast of Live Oak : north-northeast of Suwannee Springs : southeast of

. The highways travel concurrently to Jasper. ;Georgia : in Stockton : east-northeast of Lakeland. The highways travel concurrently to Lakeland. : in Alapaha. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Alapaha. : in

Ocilla The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is United States federal law that creates a conditional 'safe harbor' for online service providers (OSP), a group which includes Internet service providers (ISP) and other Inter ...

. The highways travel concurrently to

Fitzgerald Fitzgerald may refer to: People * Fitzgerald (surname), a surname * Fitzgerald Hinds, Trinidadian politician * Fitzgerald Toussaint (born 1990), former American football running back Place Australia * Fitzgerald River National Park, a nati ...

. : in

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

: in Hawkinsville. The highways travel concurrently to northwest of Hawkinsville. : north of Sofkee. The highways travel concurrently to Macon. : in Macon. The highways travel concurrently through Macon. : in Macon. The highways travel concurrently through Macon. : in Macon : in Eatonton. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Madison : in Madison. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Madison. : in Athens. The highways travel concurrently through Athens. : in Jefferson : in Gainesville. The highways share an unsigned concurrency to northeast of Gainesville. : in Turners Corner. The highways travel concurrently to Topton, North Carolina. : in Blairsville. ;North Carolina : in Ranger. US 64/US 129 travels concurrently to

Murphy Murphy is an Irish surname meaning "Sea Warrior". Origins and variants The surname is a variant of two Irish surnames: "Ó Murchadha"/"Ó Murchadh" (descendant of "Murchadh"), and "Mac Murchaidh"/" Mac Murchadh" (son of "Murchadh") derived ...

. US 74/US 129 travels concurrently to Topton. ;Tennessee : south-southeast of Clover Hill. The highways travel concurrently to Maryville. : in Maryville : in

: in

: in Knoxville

In popular culture

U.S. 129 is mentioned in the popular country song Bottoms Up by Brantley Gilbert: "I see you and me riding like Bonnie and Clyde, Goin 95 burning down 129." U.S. 129 is known particularly for being a route containing hundreds of mountainous curves and turns (in the Tennessee section). With the rise of the internet and telecommunications, the Tennessee section of the route has become popularized by its motoring enthusiasts who share their experiences through social messaging boards and media outlets. This small stretch of around 11 miles starting at Deals Gap just before the Tennessee state line in North Carolina, has been nicknamed Tail Of The Dragon.

References

External links

*
Endpoints of US highway 129
{{DEFAULTSORT:29-1 United States Numbered Highway System 1