Johnson Ferry
Encyclopedia
Johnson's Ferry or the Johnson Ferry was an important ferry
built and operated by Johnson Garwood, and like most of the historic ferries of the Atlanta area
, dates back to the 1830s. It was an important link from what is now Atlanta across the Chattahoochee River
to northwest Georgia
, begun at a time when the Cherokee people were forced from the region, and their land redistributed by the Georgia Land Lottery
.
between Cobb County and Sandy Springs. It begins in Chamblee
at Georgia 141 and travels northwest, and temporarily terminates in Sandy Springs just south of I-285 at an intersection with Glenridge Drive. Then it returns just north of I-285, also at Glenridge Drive, crossing north/south Roswell
Road (Georgia 9 from Atlanta) and east/west Hammond Road (Hammond being the city's original name) near its central business district. It becomes four lanes at Abernathy Road, although traffic to and from the northwest generally takes Abernathy rather than the southern leg of Johnson Ferry Road. It continues northwest with various turn lanes and descends to Riverside Drive, then crosses the river, leaving the city of Sandy Springs and crossing the county line from Fulton into Cobb.
The scenery changes from tree-lined and park-like to cut-away hillsides covered with invasive kudzu
vines and naturalized mimosa
trees. This is the result of the 1990s widening to six lanes plus a raised median, with no replanting done except in the median. The extra lane uphill acts as a climbing lane for large vehicles, while downhill it is an extremely long turn lane for Columns Drive, much of it blocked from the adjacent lane by white plastic poles. Upon reaching Paper Mill Road, the steep climb levels off and heavier local traffic begins, passing Lower Roswell Road at Parkaire and then Roswell Road (Georgia 120 from Marietta
), the major crossroads of east Cobb, and one of the county's most-traveled and most accident
-prone intersection
s. It is also a major retail
business district known as Merchants Walk, for its original shopping center. North of here, it becomes residential and goes back to four lanes and a landscaped median, passing Sewell Mill Road, Post Oak Tritt Road, and then coming to Shallowford Road (not the same as another Shallowford Road in Atlanta), which is an east-west arterial road (connecting with Sandy Plains Road and the city of Roswell
). This intersection is a retail business district known as Shallowford Falls. The road continues north as a neighborhood street in the Chimney Lakes neighborhood (the location of the actual "Shallowford Falls"), finally ending at Childers Road.
This is due to the heavy volume of rush hour
traffic traveling this route to get to and from Georgia 400 and Perimeter Mall
, and the failure of Cobb and Fulton counties to come to an agreement on their own, with Fulton at one time timing the traffic light
s to cause further morning backups into Cobb.
All but one of the homes along Abernathy were destroyed for widening, but the neighborhoods along the 1¼ miles or two kilometers of Johnson Ferry Road will be spared. Johnson Ferry and Abernathy will be "broken", such that they flow directly into each other, and will require a turn at two new intersections to stay straight on the original roads. The bridge at the former ferry location will be widened between Columns Drive on the Cobb riverbank to Riverside Drive on the Fulton
riverbank, from its current four lanes to six plus bike lanes, wide sidewalk
s, and a raised road median. It is expected to be completed in 2011.
The adjacent section of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
is the Johnson Ferry unit. It runs along the Cobb side of the river, most of it northeast almost to Morgan Falls Dam, and a small section southwest along Columns Drive.http://www.nps.gov/chat/planyourvisit/johnsonferrynorth.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/chat/planyourvisit/johnsonferrysouth.htm
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
built and operated by Johnson Garwood, and like most of the historic ferries of the Atlanta area
Historic ferries of the Atlanta area
There were several historic ferries around the metro Atlanta, Georgia area, for which many of its current-day roads are named. Most of the ferries date back to the 1820s and 1830s, to carry travelers across the Chattahoochee River or several other smaller rivers...
, dates back to the 1830s. It was an important link from what is now Atlanta across the Chattahoochee River
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
to northwest Georgia
Northwest Georgia
Northwest Georgia includes the counties of:*Dade County*Walker County*Catoosa County*Whitfield County*Murray County*Gordon County*Chattooga County*Floyd County*Bartow County*Paulding County*Polk County*Haralson County...
, begun at a time when the Cherokee people were forced from the region, and their land redistributed by the Georgia Land Lottery
Georgia Land Lottery
The Georgia land lotteries were an early nineteenth century system of land distribution in Georgia. Under this system, qualifying citizens could register for a chance to win lots of land that had formerly belonged to the Creek Indians and the Cherokee Nation. The lottery system was utilized by the...
.
Johnson Ferry Road
Johnson Ferry Road (often incorrectly referred to as "Johnson's Ferry Road", as most other local ferries end in -s or -'s) is now a major arterial roadArterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
between Cobb County and Sandy Springs. It begins in Chamblee
Chamblee, Georgia
As of the 2010 Census Chamblee had a population of 9,892. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 45.0% white , 7.0% black or African American , 2.1% Native American , 1.8% Vietnamese, 1.6% Asian Indian, 4.6% other Asian, 33.5% from some other race and...
at Georgia 141 and travels northwest, and temporarily terminates in Sandy Springs just south of I-285 at an intersection with Glenridge Drive. Then it returns just north of I-285, also at Glenridge Drive, crossing north/south Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
Road (Georgia 9 from Atlanta) and east/west Hammond Road (Hammond being the city's original name) near its central business district. It becomes four lanes at Abernathy Road, although traffic to and from the northwest generally takes Abernathy rather than the southern leg of Johnson Ferry Road. It continues northwest with various turn lanes and descends to Riverside Drive, then crosses the river, leaving the city of Sandy Springs and crossing the county line from Fulton into Cobb.
The scenery changes from tree-lined and park-like to cut-away hillsides covered with invasive kudzu
Kudzu
Kudzu is a plant in the genus Pueraria in the pea family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. It is a climbing, coiling, and trailing vine native to southern Japan and southeast China. Its name comes from the Japanese name for the plant, . It is a weed that climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so...
vines and naturalized mimosa
Albizia
Albizia is a genus of about 150 species of mostly fast-growing subtropical and tropical trees and shrubs in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the legume family, Fabaceae. The genus is pantropical, occurring in Asia, Africa, Madagascar, Central, South, and southern North America and Australia, but mostly...
trees. This is the result of the 1990s widening to six lanes plus a raised median, with no replanting done except in the median. The extra lane uphill acts as a climbing lane for large vehicles, while downhill it is an extremely long turn lane for Columns Drive, much of it blocked from the adjacent lane by white plastic poles. Upon reaching Paper Mill Road, the steep climb levels off and heavier local traffic begins, passing Lower Roswell Road at Parkaire and then Roswell Road (Georgia 120 from Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
), the major crossroads of east Cobb, and one of the county's most-traveled and most accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
-prone intersection
Intersection (road)
An intersection is a road junction where two or more roads either meet or cross at grade . An intersection may be 3-way - a T junction or fork, 4-way - a crossroads, or 5-way or more...
s. It is also a major retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
business district known as Merchants Walk, for its original shopping center. North of here, it becomes residential and goes back to four lanes and a landscaped median, passing Sewell Mill Road, Post Oak Tritt Road, and then coming to Shallowford Road (not the same as another Shallowford Road in Atlanta), which is an east-west arterial road (connecting with Sandy Plains Road and the city of Roswell
Roswell, Georgia
Roswell is a city located in northern Fulton County; it is a suburb of northern Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The 2010 Census population was 88,346. It is the eighth largest city in Georgia...
). This intersection is a retail business district known as Shallowford Falls. The road continues north as a neighborhood street in the Chimney Lakes neighborhood (the location of the actual "Shallowford Falls"), finally ending at Childers Road.
Bridge widening
From Columns Drive on the northwest riverbank of the Chattahoochee River, southeast to Abernathy Road, and continuing east on Abernathy to Roswell Road (Georgia 9), the roads have been temporarily designated by GDOT as Georgia state route 947. http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:auB7hdajdHUJ:wwwb.dot.ga.gov/dot/preconstruction/urbandesign/johnsonferry-abernathy/Documents/PDF/ConceptReport/concept%2520report.pdf+georgia+state+route+947+abernathy&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us.This is due to the heavy volume of rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
traffic traveling this route to get to and from Georgia 400 and Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall
Perimeter Mall is a super-regional shopping mall in Dunwoody, Georgia, just north of Atlanta, near the highway interchange of Interstate 285 and Georgia 400....
, and the failure of Cobb and Fulton counties to come to an agreement on their own, with Fulton at one time timing the traffic light
Traffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
s to cause further morning backups into Cobb.
All but one of the homes along Abernathy were destroyed for widening, but the neighborhoods along the 1¼ miles or two kilometers of Johnson Ferry Road will be spared. Johnson Ferry and Abernathy will be "broken", such that they flow directly into each other, and will require a turn at two new intersections to stay straight on the original roads. The bridge at the former ferry location will be widened between Columns Drive on the Cobb riverbank to Riverside Drive on the Fulton
Fulton County, Georgia
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its county seat is Atlanta, the state capital since 1868 and the principal county of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
riverbank, from its current four lanes to six plus bike lanes, wide sidewalk
Sidewalk
A sidewalk, or pavement, footpath, footway, and sometimes platform, is a path along the side of a road. A sidewalk may accommodate moderate changes in grade and is normally separated from the vehicular section by a curb...
s, and a raised road median. It is expected to be completed in 2011.
The adjacent section of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area preserves a series of sites between Atlanta in the United States and Lake Sidney Lanier along the Chattahoochee River. The 48-mile stretch of the river affords public recreation opportunities and access to historic spots...
is the Johnson Ferry unit. It runs along the Cobb side of the river, most of it northeast almost to Morgan Falls Dam, and a small section southwest along Columns Drive.http://www.nps.gov/chat/planyourvisit/johnsonferrynorth.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/chat/planyourvisit/johnsonferrysouth.htm