State Route 25 (SR 25) 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 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 ...

. From U.S. Route 78 (US 78) in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

northeast to its terminus at 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, SR 25 is the unsigned partner route of US 411. The southwestern terminus of SR 25 is at its intersection with SR 5 near Pine Hill in Wilcox County.

Route description

Alabama State Route 25 is one of Alabama's longest state routes - and one of its most diverse. After turning directly north away from

Alabama State Route 5 State Route 5 (SR 5) is a south–north state highway in the western part of the U.S. state of Alabama. Prior to the renumbering of the highways of Alabama in 1957, it extended from Mobile north to the Tennessee state line and was one o ...

in Sunny South, the route winds its way north to

Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...

, one of its largest cities in its portion west of

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 ...

. After leaving Greensboro, the route winds north-northeast through the

Talladega National Forest The Talladega National Forest is located in the U.S. state of Alabama and covers 392,567 acres (613.39 sq mi, or 1,588.66 km2) at the southern edge of the Appalachian Mountains. Before it was bought by the federal government in the 1930s, ...

Oakmulgee District. Upon its second junction with SR-5, the route winds through

Centreville Centreville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. It had a population of 73,518, making it the most-populous community in Fairfax County as of t ...

before heading east-northeast through

Montevallo Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the cit ...

, Calera, and Columbiana. The portion of the route from Centreville to

Vincent Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

encompasses a portion of a wide eastern beltway of sorts around

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

with

U.S. Route 231 U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway System, U.S highway that is a parallel route of U.S. Route 31, US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, St. John, Indiana, at U.S. Route 41 in Indiana, US&nbs ...

and Alabama State Route 160. In Wilsonville, the route turns due north and heads to its junction with US-231/ 280 in Harpersville. After a short concurrency with US-231, the route winds its way across Double Oak Mountain on a fairly curvy routing (See below). Upon reaching US-78 and US-411, signed SR-25 comes to an end as it winds north to the

state line concurrent with aforementioned US-411. When viewed on a map, SR-25 is among the most expansive state routes in the state, terrain and length-wise; with nearly 1000 ft of elevation gain along the path and passage through nine counties in the state.

The Double Oak Mountain area

SR 25 traverses one of the higher peaks in the Birmingham area, Double Oak Mountain, connecting the Coosa and

Cahaba River The Cahaba River is the longest substantially free-flowing river in Alabama. It is a major tributary of the Alabama River and part of the larger Mobile River basin. With headwaters near Birmingham, the Cahaba flows southwest, then at Heiberger tu ...

valleys. The roadway was constructed between 1914 and 1921 with support from Buffalo Rock founder Sidney Word Lee, who owned a 3,000-acre camp in

Calcis Calcis is an unincorporated community in Shelby County, Alabama, United States, located along Alabama State Route 25, north-northwest of Vincent. History The community's name is derived from the word ''calcium'', in reference to the limestone ...

. There is also a railroad line that travels parallel with SR 25 between

and

that tunnels through Double Oak Mountain below the highway. The stretch of SR 25 between Vincent and Leeds is popular with motorcyclists and other outdoor enthusiasts. This road is off limits to heavy trucks except for local deliveries due to a large number of sharp curves, blind entrances and exits, and a narrow, elevated roadway. The small communities of Vandiver, Sterrett, Calcis, and Dunnavant straddle the highway in this area. The exclusive and private Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club, home of the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and 1990 PGA Championships is located on Shelby County Route 41 not far from its intersection with SR 25.

Major intersections

References

{{reflist 025 025 Transportation in Wilcox County, Alabama Transportation in Marengo County, Alabama Transportation in Hale County, Alabama Transportation in Bibb County, Alabama Transportation in Shelby County, Alabama Transportation in Jefferson County, Alabama Transportation in St. Clair County, Alabama Transportation in Etowah County, Alabama Transportation in Cherokee County, Alabama