Interstate 65 (I-65) meanders across of the

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 ...

countryside linking six of the state's 10 largest cities. The highway links together many important roadways that make commerce inside and outside of the state's boundaries possible. It starts at I-10 near Mobile. The route passes through the major cities of Montgomery,

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, Decatur, Huntsville, and

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before entering

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 ...

in the north near the town of Ardmore, Alabama. The entire Alabama portion of I-65 is dedicated as Heroes Highway in honor of Central Intelligence Agency officer Johnny Micheal Spann and all of the people who died during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

Route description

I-65 starts its northward journey in Mobile as a three-lane freeway at a directional T interchange with I-10 not far from the

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. From there, it runs northeast, intersecting with I-165 in Prichard. At exit 13 in Saraland, the Interstate transitions from three to two lanes. The highway next crosses the Mobile–Tensaw River Delta at the General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge. En route to Montgomery, it passes county seats

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

( Conecuh County) and Greenville ( Butler County). In the case of a hurricane evacuation on Alabama's coast, I-65 can be converted to an evacuation route where all lanes flow in the northbound direction from Mobile to Montgomery. This process is known as contraflow. The terrain on this stretch of road is slightly hilly, aside from a stretch in southern Conecuh County near Castleberry, where the road is slightly mountainous as it descends over into the southern plains of Alabama. Go_to_church

As the I-65 approaches the Montgomery city limits, the

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's automotive plant can be found just off freeway. It can be accessed using the Pintlala– Hope Hull exit (exit 164). After entering the city limits, I-65 intersects U.S. Route 80 (US 80, exit 167; which leads to Selma toward the west) where the Interstate gains an additional lane for a total of three lanes in each direction. Further on, it intersects the southern terminus of I-85 and crosses the

Alabama River The Alabama River, in the U.S. state of Alabama, is formed by the Tallapoosa River, Tallapoosa and Coosa River, Coosa rivers, which unite about north of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, near the town of Wetumpka, Alabama, Wetumpka. Over a co ...

north of the city. At exit 181, which provide access to Prattville and Wetumpka, I-65's lanes drop to two. At

Chilton County Chilton County is a County (United States), county located in the Central Alabama, central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 45,014. The county seat is Clanton, Alabama, C ...

, I-65 enters the Birmingham metropolitan area. Approximately halfway between Montgomery and Birmingham, it passes Clanton, the county seat, where the water tower, visible from the road, is shaped and painted to resemble a huge

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

. Between exit 212 ( State Route 145 (SR 145)) and exit 219 (County Road 42), I-65 was designated "War on Terror Memorial Highway" in 2014. I-65 junctions with US 31 (exit 238) in

Alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

, where the Interstate carries three to four lanes until

I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to: * Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States * I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status * I-20 (rap ...

/ I-59. I-65 intersects I-459 in Hoover, then passes through the cities of Vestavia Hills and Homewood, which often generate heavy traffic. As the Interstate passes by downtown Birmingham, southbound travelers have a view of the Vulcan statue atop Red Mountain. At the north edge of downtown, I-65 reaches the I-20/I-59 intersection (exit 261) with a crossover interchange, often called " Malfunction Junction", through which the highway has five lanes, continuing on northward with four. North of Birmingham at mile 266, interchange ramps provide access to parallel US 31. It is here that I-65 meets the eastern terminus of I-22, which heads northwest to Memphis, Tennessee, filling in a gap in the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

. After which, I-65 intersects Walker Chapel Road (exit 267) in Fultondale, where the Interstate drops to three lanes. The Interstate then continues in the general direction of Huntsville, crossing the Blount– Cullman county line (milemarker 291), where lanes transition from three to two, as well as passing the city of Cullman on the way. After entering the Decatur metropolitan area, in southern Morgan County, the Interstate passes Decatur. The highway connects the Huntsville–Decatur metropolitan area as it crosses

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(

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) on a bridge. The Interstate emerges again into the fringes of Decatur in an open area of seemingly "endless" cotton fields where it intersects, inside Decatur, with SR 20, U.S. Route 72 Alternate (US 72 Alt.), and the spur route I-565 to Huntsville. Between Walkers Chapel Road in Fultondale and the Tennessee River in Decatur ( Limestone County), I-65 has been designated the "Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway". The sign designating the north end of this portion of road cites Reagan's speech in Decatur on July 4, 1984. The Interstate then continues, passing

, and merges with US 31. The two routes travel concurrently approximately to the Tennessee state line. In the Birmingham–Hoover vicinity, a plan to widen the Interstate from North Birmingham to Alabaster has been proposed. The project is to widen the Interstate by adding an

HOV A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, ...

lane and keeping the original three lanes making it four lanes in each direction. This is planned to stretch to the Pelham area. From there, the Interstate will widen from two lanes each way to three lanes each way into the Helena–Alabaster area. Near the northern border of Alabama with Tennessee on southbound I-65 is located the Alabama Welcome Center and rest area. The unique feature of this rest area compared to others is the large

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rocket erected on the site as a memorial to Alabama's—and, in particular, Huntsville's—contribution to

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's space exploration.

History

The first section designed for the future Interstate Highway System spanned from the Tennessee border to Athens at US 31. It opened on November 15, 1958, and has a historical marker on the Tennessee side of the border. It was converted to full Interstate standards around 1970. The first section of Interstate in Alabama opened to traffic was the stretch of I-65 between northern Jefferson County and

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on December 10, 1959. A segment between Clanton and Calera opened to traffic on March 23, 1961. On April 1, 1961, a section between north of Warrior and SR 69 near Cullman opened to traffic. On May 25, 1961, two segments of I-65, a segment near Clanton and a segment between Calera and Alabaster, were opened. In Mobile, the section between US 90 and US 45 opened on January 4, 1963. Work on the Tennessee River bridges in Morgan and Limestone counties began in April 1969, and the bridges were dedicated and opened on November 21, 1973. AL 14 I65 FHWA 1963 1238

While most of I-65 in Alabama was completed in the 1960s, the last segments to be completed were some of the last segments to be completed on the entire Interstate Highway System. The section between Alabaster and Hoover opened on May 20, 1981. The first contracts for the construction of the segment between US 43 north of Mobile and SR 225 in Baldwin County, including the General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge, were awarded in 1967, and the section was opened on October 2, 1981. At the time, this was the most expensive highway project in the state's history, costing $137 million (equivalent to $ in ). The last section to be completed was a section between Lewisberg and Warrior that opened on December 19, 1985, which replaced a four-lane section of US 31 that had been designated as part of I-65 but did not meet Interstate Highway standards. In 1997, at Georgiana (exit 114), honoring legendary country musician and Alabama native

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

, the Interstate was designated as Hank Williams's Memorial "Lost Highway", after one of his songs. This designation continues northward until mile 179 north of Montgomery. From the state's capital, I-65 doglegs northward, bypassing Prattville and Clanton before going through the Birmingham metropolitan area. From exits 242 to 290, this highway carries at least six lanes of traffic. A portion of the Interstate running through Birmingham has been nicknamed "Malfunction Junction" for its numerous wrecks. These accidents include two separate occasions of the support beams melting after crashes by 18-wheelers and the numerous collisions that happen every year, resulting from the junction with I-20 and I-59. In 2004, following the death of former-

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Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

, a lengthy segment of I-65 from Jefferson County to Limestone County was designated the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway. The sign designating the north end of the segment includes a statement from Reagan's speech at Point Mallard Park in nearby Decatur on July 4, 1984.

Future

Just a few miles north of I-22 will be the new interchange (exit 274), which will be Corridor X-1 and has been designated as Interstate 422. This loop route will connect I-65 with I-59 northeast of Birmingham and I-20/I-59 southwest of Birmingham, and this will serve as an Interstate Highway bypass of Birmingham, augmenting the existing I-459, which already provides the southern loop of Birmingham. Construction of this interchange is still several years away, but right-of-way is in the process of being acquired to build I-422. I-65 will also be widened between exit 231 in Calera and exit 238 near

, which will include six bridges over rail tracks and two bridges. This project is expected to cost $300 million.

Exit list

References