Alabama State Route 5

State Route 5 marker

State Route 5
Route information
Maintained by ALDOT
Length: 197.775 mi[1] (318.288 km)
Major junctions
South end: US 43 / SR 13 in Thomasville
  SR 14 / SR 183 in Marion
US 82 near Centreville
I20 / I59 / US 11 / SR 7 in Birmingham
SR 69 / SR 118 in Jasper
North end: US 278 / SR 13 / SR 74 in Natural Bridge
Highway system
  • Alabama Highways
SR 4SR 6

State Route 5 (SR 5) is a 197.775-mile-long (318.288 km) north–south state highway is the western part of the U.S. state of Alabama. While it once extended – prior to the renumbering of the highways of Alabama in 1957 – from Mobile north to the Tennessee state line, and was one of the major routes between Mobile and Birmingham,[2] it has since been shortened to about half of its former length, and superseded by newer highways such as Interstate 65 (I-65) and SR 157.

Route description

In a way, SR 5 is two separate highways. The first leg of its route begins at the present southern terminus of SR 5 at its intersection with U.S. Route 43 (US 43) at Thomasville. For the next 135 miles (217 km), it proceeds northeasterly towards Birmingham, passing through the rural areas of the Black Belt. In northern Bibb County, SR 5 joins US 11, I-20, and I-59, and these continue their route to the northeast. SR 5 travels concurrently with US 11 for 30 miles (48 km) between Woodstock and Birmingham.

The second section of SR 5 begins near the historic Legion Field stadium in Birmingham, where US 11 and SR 5 intersect with US 78. At that point, the concurrency of US 11 and SR 5 ends, and the 13-mile (21 km)-long concurrency of US 78 and SR 5 begins. US 78 and SR 5 formerly traveled concurrently from Birmingham to Jasper, passing through the Birmingham suburbs of Forestdale, Adamsville, and Graysville. With the completion of much of I-22 in northwestern Alabama, US 78 and SR 5 now split at Graysville, with US 78 now being routed on I-22. At Jasper, SR 5 forks away from the former routing of US 78, continuing through the rural areas of Walker County and Winston County. The northern terminus of SR 5 is at its junction with US 278 and SR 13 at Natural Bridge.

History

In the original numbering of state roads in the mid-1920s, the highway that would become SR 5 had several numbers. SR 6 was the highway from Mobile north via Thomasville to Selma. SR 35 split from SR 6 at Safford and ran northeast near Woodstock, where traffic could continue to Birmingham on SR 2 (US 11). SR 43 split from SR 8 (US 78) at Jasper, taking traffic from Montgomery via US 78 to Phil Campbell.

SR 43 also traveled southwest from Jasper to SR 33 at the village of Bankston, though the exact route had not been defined by 1927. From there, travelers could continue north on part of SR 5 to Florence, and SR 50 to the Tennessee state line, where the road became Tennessee State Route 6 towards Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and Nashville, Tenn.[3][4]

By late 1928, a large renumbering of highways had been carried out. The new SR 5 stretched from Mobile to Tennessee via Birmingham and Florence, and included several former routes: most of SR 6, all of SR 35, most of SR 43, part of SR 5, and all of SR 50. The remainders of SR 35 and SR 43 became parts of SR 22 and SR 18. The old SR 5 was split among several routes. The two halves of the new SR 5 were linked between somewhere near Woodstock and Jasper by a concurrency with SR 7 (US 11) and SR 4 (US 78) via Birmingham.[5] US 43 was added to the route south of Thomasville and north of Phil Campbell in 1933 or 1934. In between those two, SR 5 used a shorter route, mainly SR 13.[6][7]

Except for minor relocations and widenings, SR 5 remained the same until the 1950s. Around 1950, a new highway, running southeast from SR 5 at Haleyville to local roads at Natural Bridge, was added to the state highway system as SR 195.[8][9]

Maintenance by the Alabama Highway Department was extended southeast from Natural Bridge to SR 5 near Jasper by 1957. In that year, in the renumbering of the state highways of Alabama, substantial changes were made to the route of SR 5. Both portions of it that had been concurrencies with US 43 – south of Thomasville and north of Phil Campbell – became SR 13, which essentially became the unsigned partner to US 43 across the state. SR 13 used a shorter highway between Bankston and Haleyville, joining SR 5 at Natural Bridge and making the north end of SR 5 an overlap with SR 13. US 43 has never been moved to this route.

In addition, SR 5 and SR 195 were swapped between Jasper and Haleyville, giving SR 5 a more direct route that had just been paved. This removed almost half of the original SR 5, leaving it a reflected C-shaped route, with both ends of connecting with US 43, and its eastmost point in Birmingham.[10][11]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
ClarkeThomasville0.000.00 US 43 (SR-13) Grove Hill, Linden, Alabama Southern College Thomasville Campus
Wilcox5.7109.189 SR 25 north Thomaston
Pine Hill11.0217.73 SR 10 Butler, Camden
Kimbrough14.0522.61 SR 162 east Camden
Marengo
No major junctions
WilcoxCatherine28.1045.22 SR 28 Thomaston, CamdenInterchange
Dallas35.5157.15 SR 66 west Thomaston
Safford36.7759.18 SR 22 east Selma
47.6476.67 US 80 (SR-8)Interchange
Perry58.7194.48 SR 183 south UniontownSouthern end of SR 183 concurrency
Marion61.1898.46 SR 289 north Downtown Marion
62.94101.29 SR 183 north SprottNorthern end of SR 183 concurrency
62.18100.07 SR 14 (Martin Luther King Memorial Parkway) Greensboro, Sprott, Downtown Marion
69.86112.43 SR 175 south Sprott, Selma
Bibb80.83130.08 SR 25 south GreensboroSouthern end of SR 25 concurrency
Brent83.85134.94 SR 25 north (Main Street) Brent, CentrevilleNorthern end of SR 25 concurrency; southern end of SR 25 Truck concurrency (it ends at this intersection)
CR 58 (University Way) Tuscaloosa, Brent, Centrevilleformer US 82
87.50140.82
US 82 / SR 25 Truck north / SR 219 Truck south (SR 6) Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, Montevallo
Interchange; southern end of SR 25 Truck concurrency; northern end of SR 219 Truck concurrency
92.23148.43 SR 219 south CentrevilleNorthern end of SR 219 Truck concurrency (it ends at this intersection)
West Blocton98158 CR 24 Vance, West Blocton, Historic Downtown, Cahaba River NWR
Woodstock105.55169.87 US 11 south (SR-7) TuscaloosaSouthern end of US 11/SR 7 concurrency
TuscaloosaCaffee Junction108.62174.81 I20 west / I59 south TuscaloosaSouthern end of I-20/I-59 concurrency; SR 5 south follows exit 97
111.77179.88Abernant, Bucksville (SR-216 west)I-20/I-59 exit 100
JeffersonBessemer113.89183.29Rock Mountain LakesI-20/I-59 exit 104
117.68189.39 I459 north Gadsden, Montgomery, AtlantaI-20/I-59 exit 106; I-459 exits 0A-B; trumpet interchange for now.
Bessemer119.87192.91 I20 east / I59 north / Powder Plant Road BirminghamNorthern end of I-20/I-59 concurrency; SR-5 north follows exit 108
123.30198.43 SR 150 east (14th Street) Hoover
Birmingham133.47214.80 US 11 north / US 78 east (3rd Avenue West / SR-7 north)Southern end of US 78 concurrency; northern end of US 11/SR 7 concurrency
134.58216.59 I20 / I59 to I65 Tuscaloosa, Downtown BirminghamI-20/I-59 exit 123
Dugan AvenueInterchange
Adamsville141.43227.61 CR 65 / to Hillcrest Road
Graysville145.46234.10Graysville, Flat Top, West JeffersonInterchange
146.50235.77 I22 / US 78 west Jasper, Memphis, Graysville, BrooksideI-22 exit 85; Northern end of US 78 concurrency
WalkerJasper169.00271.98 SR 69 northSouthern end of SR 69 concurrency
172.18277.10 SR 69 south Carbon HillInterchange; northern end of SR 69 concurrency
173.57279.33 To SR 195 north / SR 257 Double Springs
WinstonNatural Bridge197.78318.30 US 278 / SR 13 / SR 74 Russellville, Hamilton, Double Springs, Haleyville
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

Route map: Google

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