Interstate 20 in Alabama

Interstate 20 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	215 mi (346 km)
West end:	I-20 / I-59 at the Mississippi border near Cuba
Major junctions:	I-359 / SR-69 in Tuscaloosa US-82 in Tuscaloosa I-459 near Bessemer and in Irondale I-65 in Birmingham I-59 in Birmingham US-431 / SR-21 in Oxford
East end:	I-20 at the Georgia line
Alabama State Routes < SR-19 SR-20 >

In Alabama, Interstate 20 travels 214.7 miles^[1] through the center of the state. It enters the state from Mississippi near York, and travels northeastward through Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. At Birmingham, I-20 turns eastward and heads through Anniston and Oxford before crossing the Georgia state line near Lebanon.

For more than half its mileage -- 130 miles (210 km) to be exact -- I-20 overlaps Interstate 59 from the Mississippi border to eastern Birmingham near Birmingham International Airport. Mileage and exits on the concurrency are I-59's,^{[citation needed]} although both routes have the same mileage for the Alabama duplex.

Geography and Traffic

After Interstate 20/59 enter Alabama from Mississippi, they travel concurrently northeastward across the Tombigbee River and Black Warrior River delta country which is generally low lying farmland until reaching Tuscaloosa. This area contains low population. US Highway 11 parallels this route from Mississippi northeastward while it passes thru small towns like York, Livingston, and Eutawbefore reaching Tuscaloosa.

At Tuscaloosa, the route connects with the spur interstate Interstate 359 which travels northward into downtown Tuscaloosa and to the University of Alabama.

From the Mississippi/Alabama state line to Tuscaloosa, Interstate 20/59 is a four lane route. While passing Tuscaloosa, the route briefly becomes 6 lanes but once again becomes 4 lanes east of exit 73.

From Tuscaloosa to Birmingham, the route continues on an east/northeast heading traveling thru rolling forested terrain until reaching Interstate 459 southwest of Bessemer. Most of this stretch is now a 6 lane freeway and construction continues to widen the route just northeast of Tuscaloosa to 6 lane capacity. This stretch also hosts the Mercedes auto plant which is a large employer of residents primarily from Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, and Bibb counties. Interstate 459 travels east and then northeast around the southern periphery of the Birmingham area before re-connecting first with Interstate 20 near Irondale and then terminating at Interstate 59 near Trussville. The Birmingham Northern Beltline Corridor X-1 which is slated to become Interstate 422 is to connect to I-20/59 at the Interstate 459 interchange, however project is still years away from completion.

After passing the Interstate 459 interchange, the route continues northeast thru the Birmingham suburbs of Bessemer, Fairfield, and Hueytown and entering Birmingham near the Ensley community. The route continues east/northeast thru downtown before reaching the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport where I-59 continues northeast toward Gadsden and Interstate 20 turns eastward toward Atlanta. Most of this stretch is thru urban areas including passing near the U.S. Steel plant near Fairfield. Near Fairfield and visible from the Interstate looking north and northwest are several smokestacks which is all that remain of several large steelmills that used to dominate the Ensley community of Birmingham.

As Interstate 20/59 travels eastward just past the Arkadelphia Road exit in the East Thomas community, the highway rises to the top of East Thomas hill giving eastbound travelers an excellent view of the downtown Birmingham skyline just before reaching the interchange with Interstate 65. This interchange is known locally as Malfunction Junction due to the fact that the eastbound and westbound lanes briefly cross each other and the route has exit ramps for Interstate 65 on both sides of the road which can cause confusion and accidents.

As Interstate 20/59 leave the downtown area, the route has an interchange with the Elton Stephens Expressway also known locally as the Red Mountain Expressway which travels south across the downtown area and into the southern Birmingham suburbs.

Once Interstate 20 turns away from Interstate 59, it begins an eastbound journey toward Georgia. The first two miles are a four lane bridge of east Birmingham neighborhoods before reaching the shopping areas formerly known as Eastwood Mall and Century Plaza Mall. Eastwood Mall at its opening was the largest shopping mall in the Southeast while Century Plaza Mall was the first two level shopping mall in Birmingham. Eastwood Mall was razed in 2006 and in its places exists a Wal-Mart Supercenter and other retailers. Century Plaza closed in June 2009 and the future of the site is still in question.

Interstate 20 is a 6 lane freeway from exit 132 to exit 147. This route travels thru rolling suburban country and crosses Interstate 459 near Irondale.

East of exit 147 Interstate 20 once again becomes a 4 lane route until mile marker 155. This eight mile stretch is arguably the most dangerous stretch of interstate highway in Alabama. The terrain is significantly hilly as the route passing across the northeast to southwest ridges of the Appalachian Mountains. There are two significant uphill grades in each direction which slows down truck traffic. The posted speed limit in this eight mile stretch is 55 mph. However, due to the heavy volume of truck traffic combined with speeding car traffic, accidents are frequent and sometimes deadly. This part of Interstate 20 is sometimes called "Bloody 20". There are plans by ALDOT to widen this stretch to 6 lanes and according to The Birmingham News, July 31, 2009, bids were placed to widen the 8 miles of mountainous terrain. A concrete median has already been installed in this stretch but once construction begins to widen the road, closings and delays will be common as significant blasting of rock formations will be required. US 78 can be used as a detour during times of accidents between exit 147 and exit 153 but US 78 travels concurrently with Interstate 20 between exits 153 and 156 and no parallel alternate route is available in this hilly area.

East of mile marker 155, the route once again becomes 6 lanes until reaching the Coosa River bridge near Riverside. This bridge is scheduled to be replaced when the stretch between the Coosa River and mile market 172 is widened to 6 lanes from 4 lanes. however, no timetable for this project has been announced. Exits 165 and 168 serve the Honda Motor Company which has a plant at Lincoln. Exits 168 and 173 serve the Talladega Superspeedway which hosts two NASCAR racing weeks each year. The terrain east of mile marker 155 until reaching mile marker 191 is the relatively flat Coosa River valley.

East of mile marker 172 until mile marker 178, the route is once again 6 lanes and east of mile marker 178 until mile marker 182 construction to widen the route to 6 lanes is underway with completion scheduled before the end of 2009. East of this area, Interstate 20 remains a 4 lane route until it reaches the Georgia state line (mile marker 215). The Anniston/Oxford area is served by exits 179, 185, 188, and 191.

Just east of exit 191 exists a significant uphill/downhill grade (uphill eastbound/downhill westbound) that is approximately 2 miles in length. Once again truck traffic is significantly slowed by this hill and causes occassional traffic backups. East of this incline, the route travels thru generally rural forested rolling country until reaching the Georgia state line.

East of Birmingham, US 78 serves as the parallel US Highway.

Segments As They Opened

Between Leeds and Riverside in the early 1960's. Between the Jefferson/Tuscaloosa county line and Tuscaloosa (exit 73) in the mid 1960's. Between Arkadelphia Road and Ensley Avenue (Birmingham) in the late 1960's. A short segment from the Mississippi/Alabama border to Cuba, Alabama.

Early 1970's: between exit 73 and Epes, Alabama. between Riverside (exit 162) and Lincoln (exit 168), then to Anniston/Oxford (exit 185). Between Arkadelphia Road and downtown Birmingham. Between Ensley Avenue and Valley Road in Fairfield.

Mid 1970's: From 17th Street downtown Birmingham to US78 in Irondale. From Valley Road in Fairfield to 18th Street in Bessemer. From exit 185 to exit 199 at Heflin, Alabama.

Late 1970's and early 1980's: From Exit 199 to Exit 205 (Heflin, Alabama)....however, the remainder of the route eastbound to the Georgia line was complete but waited for Georgia to complete the section from Douglasville westward to the Alabama line before it could be opened.

From US78 in Irondale to Leeds. From Epes, Alabama to Livingston, Alabama and then from Livingston to Cuba, Alabama.

By the mid 1980's the entire route was complete and open to traffic. Interstate 20 has no three-digit spur routes in Alabama, although at one time there was discussion of a spur northward from Oxford into Anniston which would also serve as a connection to the U.S. Army base at Fort McClellan as well as to Gadsden. But the closing of the base as well as a lack of population between Anniston and Gadsden ended any thought of such a route.

In Alabama's 1962 Democratic Primary Run-off, George Wallace carried every county except one: Jefferson County, the most populous in the state. Wallace vowed to prevent a cent of state highway funding to complete Interstate 20's Jefferson County segment, a promise he fulfilled, thus hastening Atlanta's rise to pre-eminence among Southern cities.

Exit list

County	Location	#	Destinations	Notes
See Interstate 59
Jefferson	Birmingham	130A	I-59 north – Gadsden	East end of I-59 overlap
		130B	US-11 (1st Avenue North, SR-7) / 1st Avenue South	Signed as exits 130A (south) and 130B (north) eastbound
		132A	To US-78 (SR-4) / Oporto-Madrid Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		132B	To US-78 (SR-4) / Montevallo Road	Signed as exit 132 westbound
	Irondale	133	To US-78 (SR-4) / Kilgore Memorial Drive
		135	To US-78 (SR-4) / Old Leeds Road
		136	I-459 – Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Gadsden
	Leeds	140	US-78 – Leeds
Saint Clair		144	US-411 (SR-25) – Leeds, Moody, Odenville	Signed as exits 144A (south) and 144B (north)
	Moody	147	Brompton
		152	Cook Springs
		153	US-78 west (SR-4 west) – Chula Vista	West end of US-78/SR-4 overlap
	Pell City	156	US-78 east (SR-4 east) – Eden, Pell City, Odenville	East end of US-78/SR-4 overlap
		158	US-231 (SR-53) – Ashville, Pell City	Signed as exits 158A (north) and 158B (south) westbound
	Riverside	162	US-78 (SR-4) – Riverside, Pell City
	Bridge over the Coosa River (Logan Martin Lake)
Talladega
	Lincoln	165	Embry, Lincoln
		168	SR-77 – Talladega, Lincoln
		173	Eastaboga
	Oxford	179	SR-202 – Munford, Coldwater
Calhoun		185	SR-21 – Oxford, Anniston
	Anniston	188	To US-78 (US-431, SR-1, SR-4) – Oxford, Anniston
		191	US-431 (SR-1) to US-78 (SR-4)
Cleburne		199	SR-9 – Heflin, Hollins
		205	SR-46 – Ranburne
	Bridge over the Tallapoosa River
		210	Ranburne, Muscadine

References

See also

• SouthEastRoads-Interstate 20
• SouthEastRoads-Interstates 20 East/59 North
• SouthEastRoads-Interstates 20 West/59 South

Interstate 20
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