of Empire, then five lanes with a center turning lane to the Cochran by-pass, which is two lanes. In Cochran, US 23 runs concurrently with US 129 Alt. North of Cochran it is undivided four lanes for to the junction with State Route 96 (SR 96) in Tarversville, then two lanes for the next to the junction with I-16 near Macon near old Camp Wheeler. North of I-16, US 23, known as Ocmulgee East Boulevard, turns on Emery Highway then turns onto Spring Street before crossing under I-75 and the Ocmulgee River. After the river, US 23 turns onto Riverside Drive and then parallels the Ocmulgee River and I-75, US 41, US 80 and leaves US 129 Alt. US 23 then crosses I-75 again and continues to Jackson. In Henry County US 23 continues north concurrently with SR 42. US 23 follows Moreland Avenue concurrently with SR 42 in Clayton County and metro Atlanta, running for several miles in a perfectly straight and due north–south line, which is also the Fulton–DeKalb county line. The highway then turns onto Ponce de Leon Avenue, splitting from SR 42, to follow US 29, US 78 and US 278. Farther along, US 23 turns onto Clairemont Avenue and onto Buford Highway to leave metro Atlanta. In Buford, US 23 turns right onto SR 20, then onto I-985. The highway intersects US 129 in Gainesville. At the end of I-985, US 23 then continues concurrently with SR 365 north. US 23 intersects US 123 in Cornelia and begins following US 441. In Clayton, the highway then intersects US 76. Though US 23 roughly parallels I-75 from Macon to Atlanta, and the two routes come within a few miles in Atlanta, US 23 only intersects with I-75 at the Riverside Drive exit in Macon. It crosses back over I-75 a few miles south. This is the only place that US 23 runs west of I-75 until many miles to the north, in Perrysburg, Ohio, (near Toledo). North Carolina The highway runs concurrent with US 441 between the Georgia state line and Dillsboro, then with US 74 through Waynesville as the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, followed by US 19 through Canton and Enka-Candler. West of Asheville, the highway follows I-26 to the Tennessee state line. Tennessee US 23 runs concurrently with the newly upgraded I-26 from the North Carolina state line past Johnson City and Kingsport. Just