422 (Paul Broun Parkway/Athens Perimeter Highway) southwest of Athens. Here, SR 316 has its eastern terminus, while US 29/US 78 join SR 10 Loop/SR 422 in a concurrency to the east. History The first portion of the highway was completed as a freeway to Lawrenceville in 1960, after the city was bypassed by I-85. With the subsequent expansion of Atlanta into its eastern suburbs, travel between the capital and Athens became increasingly difficult as highways US 29 and US 78 were both routed through multiple business districts. Over the next decades, the state completed SR 316 in sections, weaving along the original route of US 29 in order to bypass communities and business districts, including Winder and the congested Atlanta Highway in Athens. On October 22, 2020, the highway's junction with SR 81 was upgraded to an interchange. The project to upgrade the junction cost 26.4 million dollars. Gwinnett junction with I-85 In 2006, the Georgia Department of Transportation upgraded the interchange of I-85 and SR 316 with new bridges and collector/distributor (C/D) lanes involving Pleasant Hill Road, Boggs Road, and State Route 120. By utilizing one of these flyover bridges, drivers travelling westbound on SR 316 can access Pleasant Hill Road independently from I-85 southbound traffic. Another flyover built carried two new lanes of traffic going towards Atlanta on I-85 from SR 316. An HOV-only lane was converted to an express lane in 2011. Future SR 316 is scheduled to receive a number of improvements resulting in the entire route becoming a limited-access highway. This includes projects at SR 53 and SR 11. GDOT is planning on constructing a new interchange at Harbins Road in 2019 and hopes to have it open to traffic in 2021. Major intersections See also References External links SR 316 at southeastroads.com Pictures of Termini of SR 316 I-85/SR 316 Interchange Reconstruction 316 Transportation in Athens, Georgia Transportation in Gwinnett County, Georgia Transportation in Barrow County, Georgia Transportation in Oconee County, Georgia