Georgia State Routes Former

U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Georgia, which is co-signed for almost its entire length with State Route 4 (SR 4), is a highway that runs south-to-north through portions of Charlton, Ware, Bacon, Appling, Toombs, Emanuel, Jefferson, and Richmond counties in southeastern Georgia. The route runs from its southern terminus at US 1, US 23, US 301, and FL SR 15 at the St. Marys River and the Florida state line, north of Hilliard, FL, to its northern terminus at US 25 at the Savannah River and the South Carolina state line in Augusta.

The route starts at the Florida state line on the St. Marys River in eastern Charlton County, and initially runs north as a four-lane highway through Folkston, co-signed with US 23, US 301, and SR 15. In Homeland, US 301 splits off and runs in a northerly direction, while US 1 turns to the northwest, crosses into Ware County, and initially forms the county line between Ware County and Brantley County. The route continues northwest and runs west through Waycross. For the majority of its length in Charlton and Ware counties to Waycross the route is very closely paralleled by the CSX Transportation rail line from Georgia into Florida. In Waycross US 1 turns north to cross into Bacon County and Alma. In northern Bacon County, US 23 splits off to the northwest, while US 1 continues in a northeasterly direction, and crosses into Appling County.

Heading through Baxley, the route continues north, and crosses the Altamaha River into Toombs County, then heads through Lyons, and on into Emanuel County. US 1 becomes a four-lane grassy-median-divided highway just before crossing I-16 north of Oak Park, and continues north to Swainsboro. Still heading north, the route crosses into Jefferson County and runs through Wadley and Louisville, where it becomes concurrent with US 221 on its way to Wrens.

From Wrens, having split from US 221, US 1 turns northeast and crosses into Richmond County, cutting through the southern portion of Fort Gordon, before reaching the Augusta metro area, crossing I-520, and heading into downtown Augusta. In downtown Augusta, US 1 and SR 4 separate. SR 4 takes the older route to cross the Savannah River with U.S. Route 25 Business, while US 1 turns northeast with US 25, US 78, and US 278, which soon turn north and also cross the Savannah River into South Carolina.

In 1920, the designation of SR 4 was used for a route in northwestern Georgia, running from the Alabama state line east via Rome to Cartersville, where it met State Route 3. This route is signed today as SR 20 and SR 100 to Rome, and US 411 and SR 20 from Rome to Cartersville. The current route from Folkston to Alma was signed as SR 15, and the portion to Baxley had no state route designation at the time. Also, the current path north from Baxley through Lyons to Swainsboro does not appear on 1920 maps at all; instead, an unsigned route is shown from Lyons to Reidsville, and on to Metter. From Swainboro, the current route was signed at the time as SR 17 to Louisville, and another unsigned route continued to Augusta

By 1926, SR 4 was still located in northwest Georgia in various states of surface condition, from hard surface around Rome to unimproved on some portions, but had been extended from Cartersville north to Fairmount; this stretch of the route is signed today as US 411 and SR 61. The current route in the southeast, which was already signed as US 1, featured semi-hard surface to Waycross, and was in various stages of improvement from Waycross to Baxley. The current section from Baxley to Swainsboro, which had not existed in 1920, appears as unimproved road, signed as SR 32, by 1926. From Swainsboro to Augusta, the route again appeared in various stages of improvement, now co-signed as SR 17 to Wrens, and as SR 24 from Louisville to Augusta.

By 1929, the current designations of US 1 and SR 4 in the southeast of Georgia were found on Georgia highway maps. By early 1932, the entirety of the current route appears to have been covered by hard surface, which makes this route an exception, rather than a rule, of the common surface conditions at the time.

US 1 Bus. / SR 4 Bus. in Waycross, which is concurrent with US 23 Bus, continues northwest into the heart of Waycross, while the main route of US 1/SR 4 heads west across the southern portion of Waycross. US 1 Bus runs to its intersection with US 84 and SR 38, and turns northeast, co-signed with those routes for a short distance. US 1 Bus then turns sharply northwest again and is also called State Street, and continues northwest out of Waycross, before meeting up again with the main route of US 1 and SR 4.

SR 4 Alt in Alma runs south-to-north through the western part of town, crossing SR 32, while the main route of US 1 and SR 4 heads through the heart of downtown, past the Alma campus of Okefenokee Technical College.

US 1 Bus. / SR 4 Bus. in Swainsboro runs first north, then northwest through the heart of downtown, crossing US 80 and SR 26, while the main route of US 1 and SR 4 heads west around Swainsboro.

US 1 Bus. / SR 4 Bus. in Wadley runs north through the heart of downtown, crossing US 319 and SR 78, while the main route of US 1 and SR 4 heads east around Wadley.

US 1 Bus. / SR 4 Bus. in Louisville runs first northwest, then cuts northeast, concurrent with US 221 and SR 24, through the heart of downtown, while the main route of US 1 and SR 4 heads east through Louisville.