text: georgia state route 40 state route 40 ( sr 40 ) is a 30 . 46 - mile - long ( 49 . 02 km ) state highway in the southeast part of the u.s. state of georgia . the highway travels from us 1 / us 23 / us 301 / sr 4 / sr 15 in folkston east to church street in st. marys . sr 40 is the primary east – west highway of eastern charlton county and southern camden county . the highway connects folkston and st. marys with kingsland , where the route meets interstate 95 ( i - 95 ) and us 17 / sr 25 . sr 40 also serves as the majority of the route from i - 95 to naval submarine base kings bay and cumberland island national seashore . sr 40 has a pair of auxiliary routes : a connector route in folkston and a spur route in st. marys that provides access to the submarine base and crooked river state park . sr 40 was assigned to the folkston – st. marys highway in the early 1920s . the highway was first improved in the mid - 1920s and paved in the mid - 1930s from kingsland to st. marys . sr 40 was paved from folkston east to the charlton – camden county line in the late 1930s and from the county line to kingsland in the early 1940s . the highway was extensively relocated between folkston and kingsland in the mid - 1960s . sr 40 was expanded to four lanes , much of it divided highway , east of kingsland in the 1980s . the georgia department of transportation ( ) has long - term plans to expand the state highway to a four - lane divided highway from folkston to kingsland . the first portion of this project was completed east of folkston in the mid - 2000s . route description sr 40 has a pair of similarly named official designations west of kingsland . the georgia general assembly designated part of the okefenokee parkway from folkston to i - 95 , which was then under construction , in 1968 . sr 40 from folkston to kingsland became one of ten stretches of highway designated part of the okefenokee trail by the state legislature in 2006 . the highway is a part of the national highway system for its entire length . folkston to kingsland sr 40 begins at the intersection of main street and second street in the city of folkston . second street carries us 1 / us 23 / us 301 / sr 4 / sr 15 . main street continues west as an unnumbered street through the center of town . two blocks west of sr 40 's terminus , main street intersects csx 's subdivision , a very busy dual track rail line that attracts railfans to the folkston railfan platform one block south of main street . one block west of the rail line , main street meets sr 23 / sr 121 ( okefenokee parkway ) . sr 40 heads east for one block to main street 's eastern end at third street , an intersection that is adjacent to the charlton county courthouse . the state highway turns south onto third street for one block , then turns east onto kingsland road . sr 40 meets the eastern end of sr 40 connector ( cross street ) and leaves folkston as a two - lane road . the road expands to a four - lane divided highway for about 2 miles ( 3 . 2 km ) before reverting to two lanes shortly before crossing the charlton – camden county line . sr 40 intersects sr 110 , which heads northeast to woodbine , at the hamlet of colerain . between folkston and kingsland , the highway crosses several streams that feed into the parallel st. marys river . sr 40 enters kingsland on king avenue , which has a grade crossing of the first coast railroad and intersects us 17 / sr 25 ( lee street ) . here , the state highway expands to a four - lane undivided street . sr 40 expands again to a six - lane divided highway and begins to closely parallel the st. marys railroad through a commercial area just west of its partial cloverleaf interchange with i - 95 . kingsland to st. marys near the east end of the commercial area on either side of i - 95 , sr 40 becomes a five - lane road with center turn lane . sr 40 gains a median again at its intersection with kings bay road , one of several highways that lead to naval submarine base kings bay . another main highway to the naval base is st. marys road , which the highway meets at a partial cloverleaf interchange on the boundary between the cities of kingsland and st. marys . sr 40 intersects a branch of the railroad that heads into the naval base and crosses dark entry creek before meeting the southern end of sr 40 spur ( charlie smith , sr. , highway ) , which heads north along the western edge of the naval base on its way to crooked river state park . sr 40 continues through st. marys along osborne road , which is a five - lane road with center turn lane until after it passes to the south of st. marys airport . sr 40 reduces to four lanes and then two as it curves south onto osborne street in the center of st. marys . the highway intersects the st. marys railroad near its eastern terminus before reaching its eastern terminus at the intersection of osborne street and church street . osborne street continues south past the historic home orange hall and into the st. marys historic district , at the southern end of which is the passenger ferry to cumberland island and its national seashore . history sr 40 was assigned to the highway from folkston to st. marys via kingsland by 1920 . however , the route from folkston to what became us 17 / sr 25 in kingsland was not marked on maps between 1921 and january 1932 . the highway that was to become sr 40 followed most of its present alignment from folkston to the charlton – camden county line in 1919 but had a significantly different route in western camden county , following what are now colerain road , forestry road , marr cemetery road , oakhill church road , willies loop , old folkston road , arizona avenue , and several sections of abandoned highway . east of kingsland , the highway followed most of its present alignment but crossed the parallel railroad several times . by 1926 , the kingsland – st. marys highway was a sand or dirt road . when the folkston – kingsland stretch of sr 40 reappeared on maps in february 1932 , the highway was recorded as an unimproved but maintained road . sr 40 was under construction along its present alignment from us 17 in kingsland to the south end of osborne street in st. marys by october 1934 ; the highway was completed as a paved road by january 1936 . the highway from folkston to the charlton – camden county line was under construction by october 1936 . the construction was extended east from the county line to the highway 's original sr 110 junction in july 1937 . when construction concluded in october 1937 , there was a paved highway from folkston to the county line and a graded but otherwise unimproved highway from there to sr 110 . sr 40 between colerain and the western edge of kingsland was under construction by july 1939 and paving was completed in january 1941 . the gap in kingsland was placed under construction by april 1941 but was not completed until the beginning of 1943 . the first major rerouting of sr 40 occurred between 1963 and 1966 when the highway was moved to its present alignment between the charlton – camden county line and kingsland . by 1982 , the highway had been expanded to a divided highway around its interchange with i - 95 and to a four - lane undivided highway from there to st. marys . the divided highway section was extended west toward downtown kingsland in 1984 . sr 40 's interchange with st. marys road was built and the highway was expanded to a divided highway from kings bay road to sr 40 spur by 1986 . the entire length of the highway was designated a governor 's road improvement program ( ) corridor in 1989 . plans to expand the entire highway west of i - 95 to a four - lane divided highway . the first new section of the highway to be expanded to a four - lane divided highway was the 2 - mile ( 3 . 2 km ) stretch west of the charlton – camden county line , which was completed in 2004 . major intersections bannered routes sr 40 connector state route 40 connector ( sr 40 connector ) is a 1 . 33 - mile ( 2 . 14 km ) connector route of sr 40 in folkston . the route follows cross street from us 1 / us 23 / us 301 / sr 4 / sr 15 / sr 23 / sr 121 ( okefenokee drive ) on the north side of town southeast to sr 40 east of folkston . sr 40 connector heads east from the u.s. highways as a two - lane road that passes charlton county high school . the highway continues southeast through a residential area and intersects sr 252 ( burnt fort road ) , which heads southwest toward its western terminus in downtown folkston and northeast toward white oak in northern camden county . sr 40 connector enters a forested area for the remainder of its course to sr 40 ( kingsland road ) . sr 40 conn was designated along cross street in 2005 . sr 40 spur state route 40 spur ( sr 40 spur ) is a 6 . 58 - mile ( 10 . 59 km ) spur route of sr 40 in st. marys . the route is officially named charlie smith , sr. , highway based on a 1994 georgia transportation board resolution honoring a local politician from camden county ; the highway is also known as crooked river road . sr 40 spur begins at an intersection with sr 40 ( osborne road ) northwest of downtown st. marys and heads north as a five - lane road with center turn lane through a mixed commercial and residential area . north of its oblique intersection with colerain road and douglas drive , the spur route expands to a controlled - access divided highway and serves as the western boundary of naval submarine base kings bay . access to the base is provided at intersections with uss benjamin franklin drive opposite st. marys road and uss henry l. stimson drive opposite kings bay road . north of the latter junction , sr 40 spur reduces to two lanes and has a grade crossing with the branch of the st. marys railroad that enters the naval base . further north , the highway has a pair of intersections with uss andrew jackson drive and uss proteus boulevard , which serve the northern part of the military reservation . sr 40 spur leaves the edge of the base as it enters crooked river state park . the highway reaches its northern terminus at the park gate a short distance south of the crooked river . sr 40 spur was designated by the beginning of 1941 and was under construction later that year . the paved road was completed in 1942 . sr 40 spur was expanded to four lanes from sr 40 to kings bay road around 1986 .