Interstate 516 Georgia

Interstate 516 Georgia

Overview

I-516 (W.F. Lynes Pkwy) splits with US 17 north at I-16 in Savannah.

I-516/U.S. 80-SR 26 west and U.S. 17/SR 21-25 north along W.F. Lynes Parkway at Interstate 16 in Savannah. Construction from January 2020 to Fall 2023 widens I-16 from four to six lanes between I-95 and I-516. 07/25/22

Interstate 516 forms an urban loop encircling the city of Savannah from area around Hunter Army Airfield north to Garden City. Known as W.F. Lynes Parkway, the freeway doubles as SR 21, unsigned SR 421, and portions of U.S. 17 , U.S. 80 and SR 25. The south end ties into DeRenne Avenue, a congested commercial boulevard leading east into Midtown Savannah. Northern reaches of the freeway serve the Port of Savannah via connections with SR 26 Connector and SR 25.

Major Projects

Project DeRenne addresses congestion issues where Interstate 516 / Lynes Parkway transitions to DeRenne Avenue at Montgomery Street. Initiated by the city of Savannah in 2008, and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was submitted to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) for review on January 15, 2021. The environmental review process was previously anticipated for completion in 2016, and then 2019. The project involves extending the freeway end to a new partial dumbbell interchange with Montgomery Street, expanding Hampstead Avenue east from there into a multi lane boulevard, and reconfiguring DeRenne Avenue with access management, intersection improvements and raised medians. Construction was previously estimated to start in 2019 and now is in 2025.

Project DeRenne-Savannah/Chatham County

History

The initial portion of Lynes Parkway built was the 1967 extension of DeRenne Avenue west from Montgomery Street to ACL Boulevard. Work on the freeway progressed north from there to Interstate 16 by 1968 and Augusta Avenue by 1970. Completion of the route followed in 1983.1

Lynes Parkway was originally signed as SR Loop 26 (SR 26 is the state route designation for U.S. 80 through Savannah). SR 26 Loop was replaced with an extension of SR 21 south from Garden City to Savannah in 1979. Interstate designation for the route was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on December 7, 1984 under the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provisions of 23 U.S.C. 139(a) or (b).

Concurrent action by AASHTO approved the relocation of U.S. 17 and U.S. 80 onto overlaps with Interstate 516. U.S. 80 was relocated off Bay Street and southward along Lynes Parkway to Ogeechee Road. U.S. 17 was dropped from Mills Lane east, Victory Drive / Ogeechee Road west, and the couplet of Broad / Montgomery Streets and relocated to bypass Savannah along I-516 north to Garden City. U.S. 17 was again realigned in 1994, shifting from the alignment northwest to Port Wentworth and the Houlihan Bridge spanning the Savannah River onto I-16/SR 404 Spur east from I-516 to the Talmadge Bridge and Hutchinson Island.

The 1999 Georgia Department of Transportation exit renumbering project assigned exit numbers along Interstate 516 for the first time. The Interstate is signed with east and west cardinal direction banners and exit numbers increase from the southeast.

Route Information

  • East End – Savannah, GA

  • West End – Garden City, GA

  • Mileage – 6.49 (6.68*)

  • Cities – Savannah

  • Junctions – I-16

Source: December 31, 2021 Interstate Route Log and Finders List
* GDOT State Functional Classification Map

I-516 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)

Source: 2019 AADT – GDOT Traffic Analysis & Data Application (TADA)

Savannah, GA - 1969 Map
SR Loop 26 (Lynes Parkway) spurred south from Interstate 16 to U.S. 17/SR 26 (Ogeechee Road) and DeRenne Avenue at ACL Boulevard in 1969.

The original route of U.S. 17 through Savannah separated the highway into north and southbound components along a combination of Ogeechee Road / Victory Drive / 52nd Street and the couplet of Broad and Montgomery Streets north to U.S. 80 on Bay Street.

Savannah, GA - 1972 Map
SR 26 Loop was envisioned as a full loop south of U.S. 80 in 1972. The route would take DeRenne Avenue east to La Roche Avenue and then follow a new alignment north back to U.S. 80 (Victory Drive) at Thunderbolt. A portion of this alignment was accomplished with construction of Truman Parkway.

U.S. 17 ran west from Savannah due to the tolled Eugene Talmadge Bridge across the Savannah River. Tolls were dropped on the cantilever span in 1975, and U.S. 17 was initially realigned onto I-516 in 1984 and then over the new Talmadge Bridge over what was U.S. 17 ALT in 1994.

Photo Guides

East End Georgia State Route 21 DeRenne Avenue – Savannah, Georgia

East SR 21 South at DeRenne Avenue

I-516/GA 21 east at Mildred St - Savannah, GA

The speed limit reduces along eastbound Interstate 516 leading to Montgomery Street. A right in right out (RIRO) intersection here previously connected with Mildred Street south into an adjacent residential area. 07/25/22

I-516/GA 21 east at Montgomery St - Savannah, GA

W.F. Lynes Parkway transitions onto DeRenne Avenue as I-516 ends at Montgomery Street. DeRenne Avenue extends 0.44 miles east as SR 21 along a congested, six lane commercial boulevard to SR 204 (Abercorn Street). 07/25/22

SR 21 / DeRenne Avenue North at

SR 21 west at I-516 - Savannah, GA

SR 21 (DeRenne Avenue) northbound intersects Montgomery Street at W.F. Lynes Parkway (Interstate 516) west. Montgomery Street arcs southwest to the Duncan Drive gate for Hunter Army Airfield. 07/25/22

SR 21 west at I-516 - Savannah, GA

A begin shield for Interstate 516 stands between Montgomery Street and the RIRO intersection for Mildred Street and the Tatemville neighborhood. 07/25/22

SR 21 west at I-516 - Savannah, GA

I-516/SR 21 transition into a full limited access freeway west beyond Mildred Street. Lynes Parkway advances 1.25 miles to Exit 2 for Veterans Parkway. 07/25/22

West End US 80 Georgia State Route 21 Georgia State Route 25 Georgia State Route 26 Connector – Garden City, Georgia

West Georgia 21 Georgia 25 North at Georgia 26 Connector

I-516/SR 21 west at SR 25 - Garden City, GA

SR 25 branches northwest from Interstate 516 at Exit 8 to join Main Street via SR 26CO. 07/25/22

I-516 west at SR 25 - Garden City, GA

SR 25 continues north to the Port of Savannah while SR 21 extends northwest along Augusta Road, a busy arterial route seven miles to I-95. 07/25/22

I-516 west at SR 25 - Garden City, GA

Milepost seven for SR 21 coincides with the west end shield for Interstate 516 at the parclo interchange with Burnsed Boulevard (SR 26CO). 07/25/22

Georgia 25 Georgia 26 Connector South at Georgia 21

SR 25 south at I-516 - Garden City, GA

SR 26 Connector (Burnsed Boulevard) comprises a short route linking SR 25 (Main Street) and the Port of Savannah area with I-516/SR 21 (Lynes Parkway) and U.S. 80/SR 26. 11/13/06

SR 25 south at I-516 - Garden City, GA

SR 25 loops onto I-516 east / SR 21 south from Burnsed Boulevard. U.S. 80 parallels the freeway from the end of SR 26CO to Augusta Avenue, where it accompanies Lynes Parkway south as well. 11/13/06

SR 25 south at I-516 - Garden City, GA

SR 25 overlaps with I-516/SR 21 south to Ogeechee Road, where it joins U.S. 17 for the remainder of its route south to Florida. I-516 leaves Garden City for Interstate 16, Hunter Army Air Field and Midtown Savannah. 11/13/06

Georgia State Route 21 South at

SR 21 south at I-516 - Garden City, GA

SR 21 (Augusta Road) transitions onto Interstate 516 beyond the intersection with Oak Street and just ahead of Exit 8 for SR 26CO and SR 25 (Burnsed Boulevard) north. 07/25/22

I-516/SR 21 south at SR 26CO - Garden City, GA

Burnsed Boulevard connects I-516/SR 21 with U.S. 80/SR 26 as they parallel Lynes Parkway east along Bay Street through Garden City. 07/25/22

I-516 east at SR 25 Connector - Garden City, GA

I-516/SR 21-25 span Main Street and a Norfolk Southern Railroad ahead of a loop ramp for SR 25CO (Bay Street) east. SR 25CO joins Interstate 516 with both Downtown Savannah and the Talmadge Bridge (U.S. 17/SR 404 Spur) north to Hutchinson Island. Bay Street constitutes the former alignment of U.S. 80 east to President Street. 05/24/19

Sources:

  1. Georgia’s Official State Highway & Transportation Maps, GDOT web site.

Page updated April 11, 2023.