Alabama State Route 20

State Route 20
Route information
Maintained by ALDOT
Length:	84 mi[1] (135 km)
Major junctions
West end:	SR-69 northwest of Florence
	Natchez Trace Parkway northwest of Florence US-43 / US-72 / SR-157 at Florence US-72 Alt. / SR-157 at Muscle Shoals SR-67 at Decatur US-31 at Decatur
East end:	I-65 / I-565 / US-72 Alt. at Mooresville
Highway system
Alabama State Routes Interstate • US • State ← I-20 SR-21 →

State Route 20 (SR-20) runs from the Tennessee state line (State Route 69) northwest of Florence, Alabama, east to I-65 east of Decatur in the northwestern Alabama. It crosses the Tennessee River at Florence (with US-43, US-72, SR-17, and SR-157) and also at Decatur (with US-31 and Alternate US-72)

Alternate US-72 follows Highway 20 from the Junction of US-72 at Muscle Shoals to I-65 east of Decatur, the entire stretch being four laned.

History

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

State Route 20 was created when Alabama renumbered State Route 41 with a statewide renumbering in 1929. The original route ran from US-72 at Muscle Shoals to US-31 at Decatur. This portion was named the Joe Wheeler Highway and markers commemorating this are still located on East (Decatur at ailroad/Church Streets) and West (Tuscumbia-Old Lee Highway) ends. In 1931, Highway 20 replaced State Route 2 following US-72 west to the Mississippi state line west of Margerum and in 1936 was extended east to Huntsville.

1957 saw many changes to SR-20. It was replaced again by SR-2 along US-72 to the Mississippi state line, and in turn SR-20 replaced SR-2 running north to Florence and northwest of Florence to the Tennessee state line (State Route 69), forming a route popularly known as New Savannah Highway. Highway 20 was also re-aligned to a much more direct route between Decatur and Huntsville, bypassing the town of Madison.

Beginning in the early 1980s, the eastern terminus of Highway 20 began retreating to the west. The original terminus was at Clinton Avenue and US-231/US-431 in downtown Huntsville. With the construnction of I-565 in the early 1990s along the route of Highway 20 east of I-65, Highway 20 was slowly pulled back to its current terminus at the junction of I-65 and becomes I-565.

Major intersections

County	Location	Mile[2]	Destinations	Notes
Lauderdale		0.000	SR-69	Tennessee state line
		7.645	Natchez Trace Parkway
		17.162	SR-133 south (Cox Creek Parkway)
	Florence	22.048	US-43 north (SR-13) / US-72 east (SR-2) / SR-17 north / SR-157 north	Western end of US-43 / US-72 / SR-157 / SR-17 concurrency
Tennessee River		22.795	O'Neal Bridge
Colbert	Muscle Shoals	24.475	SR-184 (2nd Street)
	Tuscumbia	27.803	US-43 south (SR-13) / US-72 west (SR-2) / SR-17 east – Russellville, Cherokee	Eastern end of US-43 / US-72 concurrency; western end of US-72 Alt. concurrency
	Muscle Shoals	29.870	SR-133 north (Wilson Dam Road)
		32.189	SR-157 south – Decatur	Eastern end of SR-157 concurrency
Lawrence	Town Creek	43.103	SR-101 – Lexington, Hatton
	Courtland	50.609	SR-33 south – Moulton
Morgan	Decatur	65.780	SR-67 south (Beltline Road)
		69.147	US-31 south (SR-3)	Western end of US-31 concurrency
Tennessee River		68.484	Steamboat Bill Memorial Bridges
Limestone	Decatur	72.130	US-31 north (SR-3) – Athens	Eastern end of US-31 concurrency
		73.978	I-65 / I-565 east / US-72 Alt. east – Nashville, Huntsville	Eastern end of US-72 Alt. concurrency; US-72 Alt. / SR-20 continues as I-565, exits 1A-B eastbound
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

Historic routes

Several sections of Old Highway 20 still exist:

• Lauderdale County Road 200 through Sullivans Crossroads, Central Heights, Lovelace and McGee Town, known as Old Savannah Highway.
• Lauderdale County Road 41 from McGee Town to Florence
• Colbert County Road 22 through Leighton.
• Jefferson Street through Courtland
• Old Trinty Road between Trinity and Decatur
• Old Highway 20 through Mooresville - The section east of Mooresville is part of the 1957 alignment.
• 1936 Alignment
  • Mooresville Road north of Mooresville through Belle Mina to Old Highway 20.
  • Old Highway 20 east through Greenbrier to County Line Road.
  • County Line Road north to Palmer Road.
  • Palmer Road east to Downtown Madison.
  • Old Madison Pike from Madison to I-565 / Exit 15.
• 1957 Alignment
  • Madison Boulevard from I-565 / Exit 5 to I-565 / Exit 13.
• Governors Drive in Huntsville from I-565 / Exit 17 to Clinton Avenue.
• Clinton Avenue in Huntsville to US-231/US-431, Memorial Parkway.

Corridor V

Corridor V is part of the Appalachian Development Highway System and follows the path of Highway 20 between Decatur and the eastern Terminus at Interstate 65.

References