State Route 35 (SR 35) 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 northeastern part of the U.S. state of
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 southern terminus of the highway is at its intersection with
SR 9 in rural
Cherokee County northeast of
Cedar Bluff and near the
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
state line. The northern terminus of the highway is at
Woodville in
Jackson County where it has a second intersection with
U.S. Route 72 (US 72).
Route description
North of its southern terminus, SR 35 begins an ascent over
Lookout Mountain
Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-century "La ...
as a two-lane road. The highway heads in a northwesterly direction as it travels through the
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Little River Canyon National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located on top of Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne, Alabama, and DeSoto State Park. Created by an Act of Congress in 1992, the preserve protects what is sometimes sai ...
along the county line dividing Cherokee County and
DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb:
* DeKalb County, Alabama
DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...
leading into
Fort Payne. As the highway descends Lookout Mountain, within the Fort Payne
city limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. ...
, it makes a 90-degree right turn at the foot of the mountain. Numerous trucks descending this route have suffered brake failure and wrecked at this turn as a result, causing numerous fatalities. One resident living at this turn, Joe Faulkner, erected a reinforced concrete wall to protect his property. The wall assumed the popular name, "Joe's Truck Stop."

From Fort Payne, SR 35 is routed along a four-lane divided highway as it heads towards
Rainsville. The highway is a four-lane highway from its intersection with
US 11 in Fort Payne to its intersection with
US 72 in
Scottsboro, except for a brief stretch from near its intersection with
SR 71 in
Section
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Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents
** Section sig ...
, to the foot of
Sand Mountain and the east bank of the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
, where it intersects
SR 40. The
Alabama Department of Transportation
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is the government agency responsible for transportation infrastructure in Alabama. The Department is organized into five geographic regions, with a Central Office located in Montgomery, Alabama, ...
plans to eventually four-lane this remaining section of the Fort Payne–Scottsboro route. The highway crosses the Tennessee River over the
Comer Bridge
The B. B. Comer Bridge, was a two-lane, long, Warren truss bridge spanning the Tennessee River along Alabama State Route 35 in Scottsboro, Alabama. The bridge was named after Alabama governor Braxton Bragg Comer, who served from 1907 to 1911. ...
(southbound) and the
Bob Jones Bridge (northbound). A new bridge is under construction to replace the Comer Bridge, and was expected to open in 2012, but finally opened May 2016. In the early 1990s, a section of the highway was rerouted from a dogleg extending from Fort Payne through Pine Ridge to Rainsville along the natural slope of Sand Mountain, to the current four-lane route.
["Highway 35 Section to be Widened," ''The Huntsville Times'', July 5, 1996, p. B2] The current route reaches the brow of Sand Mountain along a ramp through a manmade gap in the side of the mountain.
Until 1980, the northern terminus of SR 35 was at Scottsboro, where it intersected US 72. It was extended westward along the former alignment of US 72 after the U.S. Highway was relocated to a new four-lane highway between Scottsboro 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 ...
. Although SR 35 travels in a south by southwestward trajectory as it leaves Scottsboro, it is signed as “SR 35 north” until its terminus at a second intersection with US 72 at
Woodville in western
Jackson County.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
External links
{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
National Park Service: Little River Canyon National Preserve
035
Transportation in Cherokee County, Alabama
Transportation in DeKalb County, Alabama
Transportation in Jackson County, Alabama