State Route 53 (SR 53) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The majority, between

Dothan Dothan is a place-name from the Hebrew Bible, identified with Tel Dothan. It may refer to: Places * Dothan, Alabama, a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties in the U.S. state of Alabama * Tel Dothan, the archaeological site identified with bibl ...

and

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

, is signed as U.S. Route 231 (US 231), but the two ends – south to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and north to

I-65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

/ US 31 near

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

– are independent. In those areas, US 231 uses SR 1, sharing the route with US 431 north of Huntsville, where it is referred to as Memorial Parkway. An stretch of SR 53, from

Research Park Boulevard Research Park Boulevard (State Route 255 or SR 255) runs from I-565 to Bob Wade Lane on the north and west sides of Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama. Much of the route is a limited access highway, with the entire route planned to be limite ...

to just south of Ardmore, is designated as the "Paul Luther Bolden Memorial Highway" in honor of Paul L. Bolden, a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient and Madison County's most-decorated

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran.

Route description

Beginning at its southern terminus at SR 71, SR 53 assumes a slight northwesterly trajectory as it travels through Dothan, where it joins US 231, heading towards Montgomery. Between Dothan and

, SR 53 is the unsigned partner to US 231, however, only SR-53’s mile markers are present along the route. At Huntsville, SR 53 diverts from US 231 and once again becomes a signed route until it reaches its northern terminus just west of Ardmore at

/ US 31 crossing several major roads along the way including

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and Sparkman Drives in Huntsville. The northbound lane of SR 53 actually enters Tennessee before going south to I-65. Tennessee State Route 7 travels concurrently with SR 53 on the state line and both Alabama and Tennessee mile markers are present on the highway. This route is the rest of Governor's Drive—US-431's

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

—in Huntsville, becoming Jordan Lane after its two-part junction with

I-565 Interstate 565 (I-565) is a Interstate spur that connects I-65 in Decatur with U.S. Route 72 (US 72) in Huntsville in the US state of Alabama. I-565 serves the cities of Decatur, Madison, and downtown Huntsville. It also pr ...

, featuring Jordan Lane and Governor's Drive. Jordan Lane is AL-53's right-of-way until its northern terminus in Ardmore.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , first=Paul , last=Huggins , newspaper=

The Huntsville Times ''The Huntsville Times'' was a thrice-weekly newspaper published in Huntsville, Alabama. It also served the surrounding areas of north Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The ''Times'' formerly operated as an afternoon paper, but moved to mornin ...

, location=

Huntsville, AL Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 r ...

, publisher=

Advance Publications Advance Publications, Inc. is a privately held American media company owned by the families of Donald Newhouse and Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., the sons of company founder Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. It owns publishing-related companies inc ...

, title=Paul Luther Bolden Memorial Highway honors Madison County's highest decorated WWII soldier , url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2013/08/paul_luther_bolden_memorial_hi.html , date=August 21, 2013 , access-date=August 22, 2013

053 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

Highways in Montgomery, Alabama Transportation in Huntsville, Alabama

Route description

Major intersections

See also

References