U.S. Route 431 in Alabama
North end | US 231 / US 431 at the Tennessee state line | |
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Location | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Alabama | |
Counties | Houston, Henry, Barbour, Russell, Lee, Chambers, Randolph, Cleburne, Calhoun, Etowah, Marshall, Madison | |
Highway system | ||
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U.S. Route 431 (US 431), internally designated by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) as State Route 1 (SR 1), is a major north–south state highway across the eastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. Although US 431's south end is in Dothan, SR 1 continues south for about 13 miles (21 km) along US 231 to the Florida state line.
Route description
SR 1 is primarily the unsigned partner route assigned to US 431.The two routes run concurrently from the southern terminus of US 431 at Dothan to the Tennessee state line. South of Dothan, SR 1 is assigned to US 231.
US 231 enters Alabama in
After about 20 miles (32 km) of hilly terrain, the route crosses the Tennessee River and enters Guntersville, junctioning with SR 79 north. It continues south and splits into two one-way streets; one for each direction. It junctions with SR 227 and SR 69's termini before losing SR 79 south. It turns almost east-to-west and climbs up Sand Mountain. This grade is so steep that there is a runaway truck ramp northbound. It junctions with SR 205's western terminus and enters Albertville. It junctions with SR 75 and leaves the city, entering Boaz and junctioning with SR 205 and SR 179. It then enters Etowah County at Sardis City.
It descends into
The route enters into Wellington and junctions with SR 204. The route then climbs and descends multiple hills as it enters into Alexandria, where it junctions with SR 144. It eventually climbs up a steep hill and gives drivers a great view of Anniston, Cheaha State Park, and some of the highest mountains in Alabama as it descends a steep grade into Anniston. It junctions with SR 21 at another parclo interchange and turns south into Oxford. The route junctions with US 78 and immediately junctions with I-20. The route merges with I-20 and about two miles (3.2 km), it leaves it, turning south, and immediately enters Cleburne County.
The route enters Cheaha State Park, and passes through the forest, junctioning with SR 281, which climbs up to the crest of Mount Cheaha, the highest mountain in the state. It leaves the forest and enters Hollis Crossroads, junctioning with SR 9. It enters Randolph County.
The route has no major junctions until it enters Wedowee. It junctions with SR 48. It leaves Wedowee as a short four-lane divided highway. It regains its two-laned status and eventually enters Roanoke. Here, it junctions with SR 22. It then enters Chambers County.
The route passes through
It passes through eastern Opelika before reaching a turn and immediately junctioning with I-85, US 29, and US 280. It gains US 280 and continues along a four-lane divided highway into Russell County.
The two routes run concurrently with
The route junctions again with SR 165 and crosses a fork of the Chattahoochee River. It enters Eufaula and junctions with US 82 west. Just before the route can cross the river into Georgia, it loses US 82 and moves away from the state line. In rural Barbour County, the route junctions with SR 30, SR 131, and SR 95, also crossing multiple forks of the Chattahoochee River, but not crossing the state line. It crosses the line into Henry County.
It moves farther away from the state line as it enters
The route eventually reaches the
. It loses US 84 and continues southwest independently with SR 210, the Ross Clark Circle. It junctions with SR 53 once again as it nears its southern terminus. The beltway turns to the northwest and junctions with US 231 and US 231 Bus. and US 431 Bus., both of which pass through Dothan. SR 1 turns south with US 231, The two business routes end, and US 431 ultimately ends its long journey across east Alabama.US 431 is a very important route throughout east Alabama, and is traversed by many people alongside US 231 and I-65.
History
Four-lane routing
One of the criticisms of US 431 in its entirety from Kentucky to Alabama was that it was mainly a two-lane road. ALDOT has prioritized four-laning the route in Alabama as a viable north–south road corridor in the eastern part of the state.
Of particular concern was the segment from Seale south to the Barbour County line, where rolling hills along the original alignment limit the visibility of oncoming traffic, contributing to poor decisions by motorists to pass, resulting in numerous head-on collisions. In this segment alone, 31 people were killed in crashes between 1992 and 2006, leading Reader's Digest to proclaim it one of "America's Deadliest Highways" in 2000.[3] After being contacted by and subsequently meeting the family of a fatal crash victim in 2003, ALDOT Director Joe McInnes decided to expedite the construction on the last remaining stretch of two-lane road between Seale and the Barbour County line.[4] This 16-mile (26 km) section was completed and opened in late 2010. The old alignment in Russell County is still open to traffic and is now labeled County Route 137.
Traveling south from Tennessee, as of mid-2009, US 431 is a four-lane route to Oxford. Then, after diverting from I-20 east of Oxford at exit 191, it reverts to a two-lane highway southward to Opelika, with a brief four-lane stretch just south of Wedowee. From Opelika southward to its southern terminus in Dothan, US 431 is now open as a four-lane highway.
Anniston Eastern Bypass
The Anniston Eastern Bypass, officially named the McClellan Veterans Parkway,
The bypass runs from I-20 exit 188 (Leon Smith Parkway), following the Golden Springs Road northwards, and cross the Choccolocco Foothills, then crosses over SR 21/McClellan Boulevard. It is complete from McIntosh Road to where the former alignment of US 431 merged with SR 21 which was resconstructed. The northern portion, which began construction in 2010,[8] is built with two at-grade intersections (McClellan Bypass and Summerall Road) and one trumpet interchange (SR 21/McClellan Boulevard). Much development has been the result of this highway in the past decade along I-20 in Oxford and it is regarded as a way to redevelop McClellan as well as north Anniston.[9][10]
The total cost of the project was $164 million;[5] the final stretch of the road to be constructed is complete as of December 2015,[11] and work on the US 431 tie-in continued into 2016 before completion.[12] US 431 follows this route from I-20 northward.
Major intersections
County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
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US 431 Bus. north (South Oates Street) / SR 210 (Ross Clark Circle) – Ozark, Enterprise, Ashford, Headland, Panama City | Southern end of US 431; SR 1 follows US 231 from this point southward | ||||
12.173 | 19.591 | SR 53 – Cottonwood | |||
10.442 | 16.805 | US 84 / US 84 Bus. west (SR 12/East Main Street) – Ashford | Southern end of concurrency with US 84 | ||
9.967 | 16.040 | SR 52 – Columbia | |||
7.062 17.838 | 11.365 28.707 | US 84 / US 431 Bus. (SR 1/Reeves Street) / SR 210 – Ozark, Headland, Eufaula | Northern end of concurrency with SR 210/US 84; SR 1 follows US 431 Bus. through Dothan; southern end of concurrency with SR 1; mileposts switch from SR 210 to SR 1 | ||
Henry | Headland | 25.754 | 41.447 | SR 134 – Abbeville, Headland, Columbia | |
26.270 | 42.277 | SR 173 north – Newville | Southern terminus of SR 173 | ||
Abbeville | 39.748 | 63.968 | SR 27 – Ozark, Abbeville | ||
42.396 | 68.230 | SR 10 – Blue Springs, Abbeville | |||
Barbour | | 59.970 | 96.512 | SR 95 south | Northern terminus of SR 95 |
Eufaula | 61.908 | 99.631 | SR 131 south – Bakerhill | Northern terminus of SR 131 | |
64.058 | 103.091 | SR 30 west – Clayton, Troy | Eastern terminus of SR 30 | ||
66.823 | 107.541 | US 82 east (SR 6 east/Barbour Street) | Southern end of concurrency with US 82 | ||
68.307 | 109.929 | US 82 west (SR 6 west) – Montgomery | Northern end of concurrency with US 82 | ||
| 74.949 | 120.619 | SR 165 north / SR 285 – Cottonton | Southern terminus of SR 165/285 | |
Russell | Seale | 96.895 | 155.937 | SR 26 west / CR 18 east – Hurtsboro, Union Springs | Eastern terminus of SR 26 |
99.105 | 159.494 | SR 169 north / CR 138 east – Phenix City, Seale | Southern terminus of SR 169 | ||
| 109.155 | 175.668 | SR 165 south (Fort Mitchell Road) | Northern terminus of SR 165 | |
Atlanta | Western end of concurrency with US 280 | ||||
113.942 | 183.372 | US 80 west (SR 8 west) – Montgomery | Western end of concurrency with US 80 | ||
114.888 | 184.894 | Columbus | Eastern end of concurrency with US 80 | ||
Atlanta | Western end of concurrency with US 280; I-85 Exit 62 | ||||
Chambers | Waverly | 149.840 | 241.144 | SR 147 south – Auburn | Northern terminus of SR 147 |
Lafayette | 158.859 | 255.659 | SR 50 | ||
160.794 | 258.773 | SR 77 north – Wadley | Southern terminus of SR 77 | ||
Randolph | Roanoke | 180.783 | 290.942 | SR 22 – Roanoke, Rock Mills | |
Wedowee | 194.314 | 312.718 | SR 48 west – R. L. Harris Dam | Southern end of concurrency with SR 48 | |
194.437 | 312.916 | SR 48 east (Woodland Avenue) | Northern end of concurrency with SR 48 | ||
Atlanta | |||||
| 217.805 | 350.523 | SR 281 | SR 281 crosses US 431 on an overpass, but the two routes do not actually intersect. SR 281 is accessible via a county road just south of the overpass. | |
Atlanta | I-20 Exit 191/Southern end of I-20 overlap/Southern terminus of SR 301, which follows former alignment of US 431 northward to US 78/mileposts switch from SR-1 to I-20 | ||||
Oxford | 188.151 225.036 | 302.800 362.160 | I-20 west – Birmingham | I-20 Exit 188/Northern end of I-20 overlap/mileposts switch from I-20 to SR-1 | |
225.269 | 362.535 | US 78 (SR 4) | Interchange | ||
Anniston | 232.534 | 374.227 | SR 21 (McClellan Boulevard) – Anniston, Jacksonville | Partial cloverleaf/trumpet interchange | |
Alexandria | 240.300 | 386.725 | SR 144 west – Ohatchee | Eastern terminus of SR 144 | |
| 247.070 | 397.621 | SR 204 east – Jacksonville | Western terminus of SR 204 | |
Atlanta | Eastern end of concurrency with US 278 | ||||
260.232 | 418.803 | I-759 – Gadsden State Community College | Northern terminus of SR 291 | ||
260.519 | 419.265 | Partial cloverleaf interchange | |||
261.994 | 421.638 | SR 211 north (North 12th Street) | Southern terminus of SR 211 | ||
265.274 | 426.917 | Chattanooga | I-59 Exit 183 | ||
Attalla | 266.117 | 428.274 | US 11 north (SR 7 north/3rd Street) | Southern end of concurrency with US 11 | |
266.449 | 428.808 | US 11 south (SR 7 south/3rd Street) | Northern end of concurrency with US 11 | ||
268.363 | 431.888 | US 278 west (SR 74 west) – Cullman | Western end of concurrency with US 278 | ||
268.829 | 432.638 | SR 77 south – Lincoln, Walnut Grove | Northern terminus of SR 77 | ||
Sardis City | 277.880 | 447.205 | SR 205 north | Southern terminus of SR 205 | |
Marshall | Boaz | 280.544 | 451.492 | SR 168 (Mill Avenue) – Douglas | |
Albertville | 286.741 | 461.465 | SR 75 to SR 68 – Geraldine | ||
Guntersville | 292.423 | 470.609 | SR 205 south | Northern terminus of SR 205 | |
294.742 | 474.341 | SR 79 south – Blountsville, Birmingham | Southern end of concurrency with SR 79 | ||
295.822 | 476.079 | SR 69 south – Cullman, Arab | Northern terminus of SR 69 | ||
296.190 | 476.672 | SR 227 south (Lusk Street) – Lake Guntersville State Park | Northern terminus of SR 227 | ||
302.114 | 486.205 | SR 79 north – Scottsboro | Northern end of concurrency with SR 79 | ||
Madison | Huntsville | 333.702 | 537.041 | US 231 south (Memorial Parkway) / SR 53 north (Governors Drive) – Arab, Decatur | Southern end of northern concurrency with US 231; southern end of northern signed segment of SR 53 |
334.700 | 538.647 | US 72 Alt. | |||
335.207 | 539.463 | University Drive | Southern end of concurrency with US 72 | ||
336.884 | 542.162 | US 72 east | Northern end of concurrency with US 72 | ||
Hazel Green | 352.958 | 568.031 | US 231 north / US 431 north | Continuation into Tennessee; northern terminus of SR 1 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ a b "Milepost Web". Retrieved April 19, 2019.
- ^ "US 431, US 280 Markers Now Up". The Opelika Daily News. Opelika, Alabama. January 26, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved December 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "State of Alabama - Office of the Governor Bob Riley - Columns". Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
- ^ "Long road to rehabilitation nearly over for east Alabama's deadly U.S. 431". AL.com.
- ^ a b Lockette, Tim (December 5, 2016). "A year later, Anniston bypass leaves Quintard businesses with mixed results". The Anniston Star. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ Goodman, Sherri C. (February 13, 2009). "Anniston bypass, Huntsville overpass are big winners if Obama OKs stimulus plan". The Birmingham News. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ Eubanks, Jamie M. (January 26, 2001). "Archaeologists Make Incredible Discoveries in Foothills of Choccolocco Mountain". JSU News. Jacksonville, AL: Jacksonville State University. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ Smith, George (February 10, 2010). "Eastern Bypass to vault over Alabama 21". The Anniston Star. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ Richardson, Robert (December 19, 2013). "Governor Bentley breaks ground on Veterans Memorial Parkway". Birmingham, AL: WBMA-LD. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ Anderson, Brian (January 14, 2014). "Weaver council seeks to annex property along Alabama 21". The Anniston Star. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
- ^ Thornton, William (December 17, 2015). "Opening of Anniston Eastern Bypass set for Monday". AL.com. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- ^ McIlwain, Maria (May 27, 2016). "More traffic lanes to open at bypass northern end". The Anniston Star. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
External links
- Media related to U.S. Route 431 in Alabama at Wikimedia Commons