New U.S. Bicycle Route 21 Designation connects Atlanta to Chattanooga

October 14,2015

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (ASHTO) has recently approved 2,141 miles of new U.S. Bicycle Routes in five new states, including Georgia. In the Peach State, U.S. Bicycle Route 21 (USBR 21) is Georgia’s first U.S. Bicycle Route designation and connects Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tennessee.  It will eventually connect Atlanta to Cleveland, Ohio, when it’s complete.

USBR 21 (160.8 miles) is Georgia’s first U.S. Bicycle Route designation and connects Atlanta to Chattanooga on the Tennessee border. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has been coordinating with Tennessee to designate USBR 21, which will eventually connect Atlanta to Cleveland when it’s complete.

Katelyn DiGioia, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for GDOT, remarked, “Georgia is excited to join other states in the development of the USBRS with the designation of USBR 21. This route terminates in Atlanta and connects via the renowned Silver Comet Trail and scenic country roads to Chattanooga.”

USBR 21 begins in downtown Atlanta at the Five Points MARTA Train Station, which accesses the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, providing an easy connection to the route for international cyclists. The route leaves Atlanta on iconic Peachtree Street, then connects to the Silver Comet Trail, a scenic rail-trail that extends to Alabama. USBR 21 heads north from the Silver Comet Trail in the city of Cedartown, whose historic downtown is worth a visit. Two-lane country roads bring bicyclists through northwest Georgia to Chickamauga, then to the Tennessee border and Chattanooga. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zquuA07Y3AtQ.kBRZPtBg3iro.

Two spur routes—USBR 321 and USBR 521—connect cyclists to other destinations in Northwest Georgia and connect back to the main route. USBR 321 takes cyclists through the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. USBR 521 connects to Mountain Coves Farm, which provides scenic views of nearby Lookout and Pigeon Mountains and rolling green hills of the valley.

“Those of us who live in Northwest Georgia have long known how beautiful this part of our state is—now we will be able to share it with cyclists from all over the world,” said Mohamed Arafa, communications officer at the GDOT office in Cartersville.