Interstate 59

Interstate 59 joins the largest city in Alabama, Birmingham, with Tuscaloosa to the west and Gadsden to the northeast. Measuring 449 miles in length, I-59 links the New Orleans metropolitan area and the central Gulf Coast with Chattanooga and the Mid-Atlantic states via connections with I-75 and I-81. Interstate 59 overlaps with I-20 for 130.10 miles in Alabama, and overall from Meridian, Mississippi to Birmingham by Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM).

I-59/20 traverses rural areas northeast from the Mississippi line near Cuba to Tuscaloosa. Growth along the stretch between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham adds traffic as the two metropolitan areas expand toward one another. Widening projects expanded most of the 35 miles of I-59 between I-359 and I-459 to six lanes. Within Birmingham, I-59/20 serves Downtown Birmingham and regional traffic north to Huntsville and Nashville, Tennessee via Interstate 65 while I-459 carries the bulk of bypassing traffic east to Georgia.

The systems interchange with Interstate 65 northwest of Downtown Birmingham, known locally as "Malfunction Junction", is one of the busiest in the entire state. An elevated viaduct emerges from the exchange east to U.S. 31 and the west end of U.S. 280 at the Red Mountain Expressway. This stretch was rebuilt as part of a $450 million, I-59 / I-20 Bridge Replacement Project underway from August 2015 to January 2020. Work expanded I-59/20 to ten overall lanes, while constructing a new system of ramps at Downtown and flyovers at I-65. Work replacing the viaduct built in 1971 included a total shutdown of the freeway mainline in 2019 while crews demolished the old structure.

East from Downtown Birmingham, I-59 and I-20 separate. I-59 reduces to four lanes despite its increasing role as a commuter route to Trussville. Northeast of Trussville, traffic drops significantly along the rural freeway en route to Gadsden and the Georgia state line. The least traveled stretches of I-59 in the Heart of Dixie are located between Gadsden and Fort Payne.

Interstate 59 Alabama Guides

North

I-20/59 North - Cuba to Eutaw - 48 photos

I-20/59 North - Tuscaloosa to Vance - 58 photos

I-20/59 North - Woodstock to Birmingham - 76 photos

North - Birmingham to Gadsden - 56 photos

North - Gadsden to Georgia - 52 photos

South

South - Georgia to Gadsden - 58 photos

South - Gadsden to Birmingham - 58 photos

I-20/59 South - Birmingham to Fairfield - 51 photos

I-20/59 South - Bessemer to Woodstock - 41 photos

I-20/59 South - Vance to Tuscaloosa - 49 photos

I-20/59 South - Eutaw to Cuba - 50 photos

22.3 miles of Interstate 59 opened in 1965 between Attalla and Collinsville (Exit 205).¹

scenes

22nd Street N south at the westbound entrance ramp to I-59/20. This ramp joined the left side ahead of "Malfunction Junction".

08/10/02

Westbound Steele Station Road at the northbound on-ramp to Interstate 59 at Steele. Steele Station Road connects the freeway with U.S. 11 and Chandler Mountain via County Road 42 west from town.

11/03/11

19th Street east from Ensley becomes Bush Boulevard at the half diamond interchange with I-59/20 in Birmingham.

10/20/12

Since I-59/20 are already within the Birmingham city limits at the Bush Boulevard on-ramp, the control point of Downtown is used. Traffic from 20th Street and Avenue Y funnels into this ramp as well.

10/20/12

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