State Route 55 (SR 55) 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 southern 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 the
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 ...
state line, where the highway continues as
Florida State Road 85 (SR 85). The northern terminus of the highway is at an
intersection
In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their ...
with
SR 106 at
Georgiana
Georgiana is a Catalan, English, Greek and Romanian name. It is the feminine form of the male name George and a variation of the female names Georgina and Georgia. It comes from the Greek word (), meaning "farmer". A variant spelling is Georgi ...
in southern
Butler County.
Route description
SR 55 is a continuation of a route heading northward from
Fort Walton Beach
Fort Walton Beach, often referred to by the initialism FWB, is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 20,922, up from 19,507 in 2010. It is a principal city of the Crestview� ...
and
Crestview, Florida
Crestview is the largest city and county seat of Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. The population was 27,134 at the 2020 census, up from 20,978 at the 2010 census. With an elevation of above sea level, it is one of the highest points ...
. It enters the state at the border town of
Florala, where it continues as
Florida State Road 85. As the highway heads towards
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
, it travels through the
Conecuh National Forest
The Conecuh National Forest in southern Alabama covers , along the Alabama - Florida line in Covington and Escambia counties. Topography is level to moderately sloping, broad ridges with stream terraces and broad floodplains.
The Conecuh Tra ...
.
The highway intersects
US 29
U.S. Route 29 or U.S. Highway 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida, to Ellicott City, Maryland, just west of Baltimore, Maryland, in the Eastern United States, connect ...
/
US 84 at Andalusia, forming a brief
wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to:
* a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving
* nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938
* nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...
, as southbound US 29 shares the same roadway as northbound SR 55, as well as westbound US 84. SR 55 and US 84 are concurrent as they lead northwesterly from Andalusia. At the small community of
River Falls, SR 55 splits from US 84 and heads northward towards
McKenzie, where it joins with
US 31. Just south of
Georgiana
Georgiana is a Catalan, English, Greek and Romanian name. It is the feminine form of the male name George and a variation of the female names Georgina and Georgia. It comes from the Greek word (), meaning "farmer". A variant spelling is Georgi ...
, US 31 splits from the route which continues to its terminus at
SR 106, which connects with
Interstate 65 (I-65).
The route is now a four-lane highway from its intersection with US 29 just south of Andalusia northward to its terminus with SR 106 and
Interstate 65
Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, 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 th ...
near
Georgiana
Georgiana is a Catalan, English, Greek and Romanian name. It is the feminine form of the male name George and a variation of the female names Georgina and Georgia. It comes from the Greek word (), meaning "farmer". A variant spelling is Georgi ...
.
This highway is increasing in popularity with travelers headed to the Fort Walton/Destin area.
History
From its creation in 1928, S.R. 55 has been extremely important to the infrastructure of Alabama. From 1934 to 1955, its routing from
McKenzie to
Andalusia
Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
was also a portion of U.S. Route 84. U.S. 84 was rerouted onto a shorter, much more direct route from
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 ...
to Andalusia in 1955.
In 1978, S.R. 55 was rerouted onto a new, much less curvy highway from McKenzie to Andalusia, bypassing
Red Level - this new routing was a four-lane highway.
In the mid-2000s, a bypass of
Georgiana
Georgiana is a Catalan, English, Greek and Romanian name. It is the feminine form of the male name George and a variation of the female names Georgina and Georgia. It comes from the Greek word (), meaning "farmer". A variant spelling is Georgi ...
- home to its junction with
SR-106 - was constructed. This new routing would junction with SR-106 west of Georgiana, continuing west to its junction with Interstate 65 - its present-day junction with the Interstate.
On the other hand, its routing south of Andalusia has remained relatively unchanged, with the only major change to the routing being the addition of a bypass of downtown Andalusia in 1995 - thus making SR-55 through Andalusia a Truck-and-Business route complex.
Alabama State Roads map
geography.ua.edu Retrieved April 9, 2023
Major intersections
See also
* List of highways numbered 55
The following highways are numbered 55:
International
* European route E55
* Arab Mashreq International Road Network, Arab Mashreq route M55
Argentina
* Provincial Route 55 (San Luis), San Luis Provincial Route 55
Australia
* Carnarvon Highw ...
References
External links
{{commons category-inline
055
Transportation in Covington County, Alabama
Transportation in Conecuh County, Alabama
Transportation in Butler County, Alabama