U.S. Route 431 in Alabama

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U.S. Route 431

State Route 1
US 431 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ALDOT
Length352.958 mi[1] (568.031 km)
ExistedJanuary 1954[2]–present
Major junctions
South end

 US 231 / US 231 Bus. / US 431 Bus. / SR 1 / SR 210 in Dothan
Major intersections
North end US 231 / US 431 at the Tennessee state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateAlabama
CountiesHouston, Henry, Barbour, Russell, Lee, Chambers, Randolph, Cleburne, Calhoun, Etowah, Marshall, Madison
Highway system
  • Alabama State Highway System
← I-422→ I-459
← SR 959SR 1→ SR 2

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

Map of Dothan

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 Meridianville with US 431. The two routes continue south until it becomes Memorial Parkway. This route is a freeway with Texas U-turns and frontage roads. It junctions with US 72 east. It continues south for about three miles (4.8 km) until it junctions with US 72 west. Immediately after this concurrency terminus, I-565 is featured in another junction as downtown Huntsville rises into view to the east. After a parclo with old SR 20/Clinton Avenue, US 431 loses US 231 at its junction with SR 53. It turns onto Governor's Drive and gains unsigned SR 1. It passes by the hub of the Huntsville Hospital system, which runs throughout North Alabama, and begins its journey across Monte Sano mountain. After leaving the mountain range, it has no more major junctions past this point as it loses the Governor's Drive name. It eventually passes into Marshall County.

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 Ridgeville and junctions with SR 77 and almost immediately junctions with US 278 west. These junctions are immediately beside a railroad track. US 278 and US 431 travel concurrently to Attalla. They maintain a short concurrency with US 11. US 278 and US 431 leave US 11 and cross under a notable railroad bridge, known for its low clearance. The routes then junction with Interstate 59 (I-59). They immediately enter into Gadsden and junction with SR 211. US 431 and US 278 junction with US 411 and cross a bridge over the Coosa River. The routes junction with George Wallace Drive, which leads to I-759. US 278 leaves US 431 and continues east to Hokes Bluff. US 431 enters Glencoe and crosses into Calhoun County.

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 Five Points before crossing into La Fayette. Here, SR 77 returns to the scene as SR 50 has its junction in south La Fayette. In Oak Bowery, US 431 junctions with SR 147. It enters Lee County for about a mile before crossing back into Chambers County. It cuts a corner of Lee County before re-entering into Chambers County for under a mile. It finally enters into Lee County completely, not cutting another corner.

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.

A sign denoting southbound U.S. Route 431, located near Bakerhill, Alabama.

The two routes run concurrently with US 80 in western Phenix City. It loses US 80 and then leaves US 280 just short of the Georgia line at the Chattahoochee River. In rural Russell County, the route junctions with SR 165. In Seale, it junctions with SR 26. It passes through Pittsview. It then crosses the line into Barbour County.

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 Abbeville. It junctions with SR 10 and SR 27. It makes the long journey through straight terrain down to Headland. It junctions with SR 134 and leaves the city. It then enters Houston County. The route has entered the Dothan Metropolitan Area.

The route eventually reaches the Ross Clark Circle, which is US 84 at this point. It joins it as it passes through east Dothan. 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.

The old alignment of US 431 between Pittsview and the Barbour County line

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,[5] is a realigned US 431, two miles (3.2 km) east of downtown Anniston and downtown Oxford. Since the early 1990s, bypasses have been planned on both sides of town to alleviate traffic on Quintard Avenue, the main north–south traffic artery in the region. Despite being planned for years, construction did not begin until after receiving funding in a 2009 economic stimulus bill.[6] Prior to the start of construction, archeological work on part of the route that passed through Fort McClellan located Native American spearpoints and an American Civil War homestead.[7]

Southbound upon the Anniston Eastern Bypass section of U.S. Route 431.

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

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
HoustonDothan0.0000.000



 US 231 / US 231 Bus. north / 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
12.17319.591 SR 53 – Cottonwood
10.44216.805

 US 84 / US 84 Bus. west (SR 12/East Main Street) – Ashford		Southern end of concurrency with US 84
9.96716.040 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
HenryHeadland25.75441.447 SR 134 – Abbeville, Headland, Columbia
26.27042.277
 SR 173 north – Newville		Southern terminus of SR 173
Abbeville39.74863.968 SR 27 – Ozark, Abbeville
42.39668.230 SR 10 – Blue Springs, Abbeville
Barbour​59.97096.512
 SR 95 south		Northern terminus of SR 95
Eufaula61.90899.631
 SR 131 south – Bakerhill		Northern terminus of SR 131
64.058103.091
 SR 30 west – Clayton, Troy		Eastern terminus of SR 30
66.823107.541
 US 82 east (SR 6 east/Barbour Street)		Southern end of concurrency with US 82
68.307109.929
 US 82 west (SR 6 west) – Montgomery		Northern end of concurrency with US 82
​74.949120.619
 SR 165 north / SR 285 – Cottonton		Southern terminus of SR 165/285
RussellSeale96.895155.937

 SR 26 west / CR 18 east – Hurtsboro, Union Springs		Eastern terminus of SR 26
99.105159.494

 SR 169 north / CR 138 east – Phenix City, Seale		Southern terminus of SR 169
​109.155175.668
 SR 165 south (Fort Mitchell Road)		Northern terminus of SR 165
Phenix City112.081180.377
 US 280 east (SR 38 east) – Birmingham, Opelika, Columbus, Atlanta		Western end of concurrency with US 280
113.942183.372
 US 80 west (SR 8 west) – Montgomery		Western end of concurrency with US 80
114.888184.894
 US 80 east (SR 8 east) – Columbus		Eastern end of concurrency with US 80
LeeOpelika137.253220.887
 I-85 / US 29 (SR 15) / US 280 west (SR 38 west) – Montgomery, Atlanta		Western end of concurrency with US 280; I-85 Exit 62
ChambersWaverly149.840241.144
 SR 147 south – Auburn		Northern terminus of SR 147
Lafayette158.859255.659 SR 50
160.794258.773
 SR 77 north – Wadley		Southern terminus of SR 77
RandolphRoanoke180.783290.942 SR 22 – Roanoke, Rock Mills
Wedowee194.314312.718
 SR 48 west – R. L. Harris Dam		Southern end of concurrency with SR 48
194.437312.916
 SR 48 east (Woodland Avenue)		Northern end of concurrency with SR 48
CleburneHollis Crossroads212.540342.050 SR 9 – Ashland, Montgomery, Atlanta
​217.805350.523 SR 281SR 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.
Calhoun​221.328
191.859		356.193
308.767

 I-20 east / SR 301 north – 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
Oxford188.151
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
225.269362.535 US 78 (SR 4)Interchange
Anniston232.534374.227 SR 21 (McClellan Boulevard) – Anniston, JacksonvillePartial cloverleaf/trumpet interchange
Alexandria240.300386.725
 SR 144 west – Ohatchee		Eastern terminus of SR 144
​247.070397.621
 SR 204 east – Jacksonville		Western terminus of SR 204
EtowahGadsden258.458415.948
 US 278 east (SR 74 east/Piedmont Cut-Off) – Hokes Bluff, Piedmont, Atlanta		Eastern end of concurrency with US 278
260.232418.803

 SR 291 south (Hood Avenue) to I-759 – Gadsden State Community College		Northern terminus of SR 291
260.519419.265 US 411 (SR 25/Albert Rains Boulevard) – Rainbow City, Ashville, CentrePartial cloverleaf interchange
261.994421.638
 SR 211 north (North 12th Street)		Southern terminus of SR 211
265.274426.917 I-59 – Birmingham, ChattanoogaI-59 Exit 183
Attalla266.117428.274
 US 11 north (SR 7 north/3rd Street)		Southern end of concurrency with US 11
266.449428.808
 US 11 south (SR 7 south/3rd Street)		Northern end of concurrency with US 11
268.363431.888
 US 278 west (SR 74 west) – Cullman		Western end of concurrency with US 278
268.829432.638
 SR 77 south – Lincoln, Walnut Grove		Northern terminus of SR 77
Sardis City277.880447.205
 SR 205 north		Southern terminus of SR 205
MarshallBoaz280.544451.492 SR 168 (Mill Avenue) – Douglas
Albertville286.741461.465
 SR 75 to SR 68 – Geraldine
Guntersville292.423470.609
 SR 205 south		Northern terminus of SR 205
294.742474.341
 SR 79 south – Blountsville, Birmingham		Southern end of concurrency with SR 79
295.822476.079
 SR 69 south – Cullman, Arab		Northern terminus of SR 69
296.190476.672
 SR 227 south (Lusk Street) – Lake Guntersville State Park		Northern terminus of SR 227
302.114486.205
 SR 79 north – Scottsboro		Northern end of concurrency with SR 79
MadisonHuntsville333.702537.041

 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
334.700538.647
 I-565 / US 72 Alt.
335.207539.463
 US 72 west (SR 2 west) / University Drive		Southern end of concurrency with US 72
336.884542.162
 US 72 east		Northern end of concurrency with US 72
Hazel Green352.958568.031

 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

References

  1. ^ a b "Milepost Web". Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "State of Alabama - Office of the Governor Bob Riley - Columns". Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  4. ^ "Long road to rehabilitation nearly over for east Alabama's deadly U.S. 431". AL.com.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Richardson, Robert (December 19, 2013). "Governor Bentley breaks ground on Veterans Memorial Parkway". Birmingham, AL: WBMA-LD. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  10. ^ Anderson, Brian (January 14, 2014). "Weaver council seeks to annex property along Alabama 21". The Anniston Star. Retrieved April 16, 2014.
  11. ^ Thornton, William (17 December 2015). "Opening of Anniston Eastern Bypass set for Monday". AL.com. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
  12. ^ McIlwain, Maria (May 27, 2016). "More traffic lanes to open at bypass northern end". The Anniston Star. Retrieved December 6, 2017.

External links

U.S. Route 431
Previous state:
Terminus 		Alabama Next state:
Tennessee
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