1920s The roadway that would eventually be signed as SR 10 was established at least as far back as 1920 as part of SR 8 from downtown Atlanta to Decatur; SR 45 from Loganville to Monroe;; SR 8 from near Bogart to Athens; SR 10 from Athens to Washington; SR 17 from Washington to Thomson; and SR 12 from Thomson to Augusta. Also,
SR 24 was established in Augusta, concurrent with SR 12. By the end of 1921, SR 45 was extended from Loganville west-southwest to Decatur and northeast from Monroe to the Bogart area. By the end of 1926, US 29 was designated along the portion of SR 8 between downtown Atlanta and Decatur; this portion was also paved. SR 45 between Decatur and Loganville was redesignated as part of US 78/SR 10, with the portion from Decatur to just north of Stone Mountain being paved. SR 45 between Loganville and Monroe was redesignated as part of
SR 13 (and presumably US 78); SR 45 between Monroe and the Bogart area was redesignated as US 78/SR 10. US 29 (and presumably US 78/SR 10) were designated along the portion of SR 8 between the Bogart area and Athens; this portion was paved. US 78 was designated along SR 10 from Athens to Washington, SR 17 from Washington to Thomson, and SR 12 from Thomson to Augusta. A short segment of US 78/SR 10 was paved. A short segment of US 78/SR 10 northwest of Washington and a short segment of US 78/SR 17 southeast of Washington were paved. The entire concurrency of SR 12/SR 24 in Augusta was paved. Also, US 1 was designated along SR 24 and was made concurrent with US 78/SR 12 in Augusta. Prior to the beginning of 1932, the entire segment of SR 13 from Loganville to Monroe was paved. Nearly half of US 78/SR 10 between Athens and Lexington was paved. SR 10 was extended along US 78/SR 17 from Washington to Thomson and US 78/SR 12 from Thomson to Augusta. The entirety of US 78/SR 10/SR 12 (and US 1/SR 24) from Thomson to Augusta was paved.
1930s to 1960s In January 1932, SR 13 was redesignated as part of SR 20. Also, SR 24 was redesignated as SR 4. By May of the next year, all of US 78/SR 10 between Lexington and Washington was paved. In February 1934, all of US 78/SR 78/SR 10 between Athens and Lexington was paved. Near the end of the year, all of SR 20 between Loganville and Monroe was redesignated as part of SR 10 (and presumably US 78). By April 1937, all of US 78/SR 10 from downtown Atlanta to Snellville was paved. In August 1938, all of US 78/SR 10 from downtown Atlanta to the Walton–Oconee county line was paved. By July of the next year, the entire length of SR 10 at the time was paved. At the end of 1941,
SR 42A was designated along Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta. By the end of 1946, it was
decommissioned. By the middle of 1960, US 278 was designated along US 78/SR 10 from downtown Atlanta to Decatur, and along US 78/SR 10/SR 12 from Harlem (or possibly Thomson) to Augusta. By 1966,
I-485 was
proposed from I-75/I-85 (Downtown Connector) to
Boulevard. In Athens, US 29/US 78/SR 8/SR 10 traveled into the main part of town, with US 29 splitting off onto US 129/
US 441 Temporary/SR 15 (Milledge Avenue; now SR 15 Alternate). SR 8 departed the concurrency on Pulaski Street. SR 15 Alternate traveled concurrent with US 78/SR 10 from South Hull Street to Thomas Street. Later that year, the I-485 proposal was extended east and north to end at I-85, along with an early proposed route for SR 410, with
SR 400 being proposed to be routed both north and south of this extension. In Athens, US 29/SR 8 were designated along the northern part of the Athens Perimeter Highway, with US 78/
SR 8 Bus./SR 10 traveling through the city. In the Monroe area, US 78/SR 10 were rerouted north of the main part of town. The former route became SR 10 Business. The next year, the north–south portion of the proposed I-485 no longer had SR 410 as a hidden concurrent route; SR 400's proposed routing was extended along this entire proposal. SR 410 was proposed to travel from the eastern end of the east–west segment of I-485 to where US 29/SR 8 split from US 78/US 278/SR 10 in Druid Hills. Also, it was proposed along its current routing. In 1969, a northern bypass of Washington was built, designated as SR 10 Bypass, while US 78/SR 10 continued to travel through the main part of town.
1970s to 1990s In 1970, US 78/SR 10 were routed along SR 10 Loop in the northern part of Washington, with the former routing becoming
US 78 Bus. (and presumably SR 10 Bus.). By 1975, the I-485 proposal was removed from SR 410 and SR 400. In 1976, the proposal for SR 400 south of I-85 and the western segment for SR 410 were dropped, with only a short freeway from I-75/I-85 to Boulevard left on the books. On the 1980-1981 GDOT map, it was revealed that this short freeway was designated as a western segment of SR 410. In 1980, SR 12 was truncated to end in Thomson, no longer concurrent with US 78/US 278/SR 10 from there to Augusta. In 1986, SR 10 Loop was decommissioned. In 1988, US 78 was routed along the Athens Perimeter Highway, but entering from the Atlanta Highway exit; the roadway inside the Perimeter was redesignated as US 78 Business, with SR 10 still designated along this stretch of highway. In 1991, SR 410's western segment was redesignated as part of SR 10, with a proposal to extend the freeway northeast to US 23/SR 42. In 1993, SR 10's eastward extension in Atlanta was completed to Ponce de Leon Avenue. Between 1994 and 1996, the portion of US 78 between the Bogart area and the northwest of Athens was redesignated as a westward extension of US 78 Business, with SR 10 still along this segment.
Miscellaneous notes The Freedom Parkway portion of SR 10 uses the
right-of-way of a canceled inner-city
Interstate highway project, I-485, which would have traveled eastward (and in a later routing, northward) from downtown Atlanta to an interchange with I-85. The original I-485 interchange with I-75/I-85 in downtown Atlanta is now used for access to Freedom Parkway, though the reduced number of lanes (compared to what was originally planned) makes the interchange look somewhat oversized for its current purpose. The eastern portion of I-485 was completed as the
Stone Mountain Freeway, which also carries SR 10 (and also US 78/SR 410) out to the
Stone Mountain. The land that Freedom Parkway uses around the Carter Center, as well as the land the Carter Center sits on, was originally slated to be used for the I-485 interchange with I-475 (now known as SR 400 further north and
I-675 further south), had those roadways been completed through the city of Atlanta proper.
Community opposition ended plans for roadway construction in the 1970s when
Jimmy Carter was
governor of Georgia, but only after hundreds of homes has already been taken by
eminent domain and
demolished. ==Major intersections==