Interstate 59 North - Gadsden to Georgia

A two mile guide sign precedes the directional cloverleaf interchange (Exit 182) with the west end of Interstate 759, the Gadsden Spur from Interstate 59.

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SR 77 (Gilbert Ferry Road) joins Interstate 59 with Attala and Rainbow City from a folded diamond interchange (Exit 182) next in one mile.

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SR 77 (Gilbert Ferry Road) becomes Grand Avenue in Rainbow City ahead of its crossroads with U.S. 431 (Rainbow Drive). SR 77 north encircles the west side of Attala to Moragne and its northern terminus at Norton (U.S. 431).

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Interstate 59 northbound at the Exit 181 ramp departure to SR 77. SR 77 constitutes a 112.33 mile route from Attalla and Rainbow City south to Talladega, Ashland and Lafayette.
Interstate 759 begins in one mile and spurs east 4.54 miles to U.S. 411 and SR 759 in the city of Gadsden.

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Interstate 59 leaves SR 77 and immediately approaches the west end of Interstate 759 in a wetlands area buffeted by Big Wills Creek.

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Opened in 1986, the Gadsden Spur provides a high speed route between Interstate 59 and Gadsden south of the central business district. The route also allows travelers bound for U.S. 278 east to Piedmont to bypass a portion of the city.

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Exit 182 branches east from Interstate 59 north for Interstate 759 east. Ramp stubs present at the interchange allude to a proposed westward extension to U.S. 278 & 431 at Attala. The overpass of I-759 east above I-59 includes space allocated for a loop ramp to I-759 west.

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Crossing Big Wills Creek on the Interstate 59 northbound approach to U.S. 278 & 431. The tandem follow 5th Avenue west to the Attala city center and Meighan Boulevard east to downtown Gadsden.

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A split diamond interchange facilitates movements between Interstate 59 and U.S. 278 & 431 and parallel Cleveland Avenue west and Forest Avenue east at Exit 182. U.S. 278 joins the Gadsden area with Atlanta to the east and Cullman to the west as part of a 1,074 mile course between Wickes, Arkansas and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. U.S. 431 is a 556 mile route stretching from Dothan to Gadsden northward to Albertville, Huntsville and ultimately Owensboro, Kentucky.

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Interstate 59 curves around the periphery of Lookout Mountain into a valley east of Big Ridge between Gadsden and the town of Reece City. Progress59 road work underway between 2011 and December 2012 rebuilt 10.91 miles of concrete pavement for I-59 between Gadsden and Stephens Gap Road. During this work one roadway was completely closed with the other handling two-way traffic.

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SR 211 winds north from U.S. 278 & 431 (Meighan Boulevard) through Gadsden to meet Interstate 59 at the Exit 188 diamond interchange at Reece City.

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SR 211 concludes its 4.61 mile journey just west of Interstate 59 (Exit 188) at U.S. 11 (Valley Drive). The state route provides the main route to Noccalula Falls, a 90 foot cascading waterfall along Black Creek in Gadsden. The falls reside within a city park that includes trails, historic sites and a botanical garden.

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Interstate 59 lines the north slope of Lookout Mountain through Little Wills Valley while U.S. 11 and a Norfolk Southern Railroad travel just west and below.

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Interstate 59 crosses Little Wills Valley and climbs onto Big Ridge before resuming a northeasterly trajectory through Big Wills Valley. This reassurance marker follows the Stephens Gap Road underpass.

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Campbell Gap Road passes over Interstate 59 north at milepost 196.7, nine miles southwest of Collinsville. Chattanooga, Tennessee is a 76 mile drive via I-59 north to I-24 east.

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Continuing alongside Big Wills Creek to the west and Big Ridge to the east, northbound motorists enter Dekalb County, the final county of I-59 in the Heart of Dixie.

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Dekalb County 39 appears on the west side of I-59 as it parallels the freeway northeast from SR 227 near Hendrixville.

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SR 698 climbs Big Ridge from a short overlap with U.S. 11 (Valley Avenue) through Collinsville to meet Interstate 59 at the Exit 205 diamond interchange in one mile.

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SR 698 winds west from Collinsville and Interstate 59 to Nicholson Gap of Sand Mountain on the trek to Dawson and Crossville. The state route ends at SR 75 in Marshall County.

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Exit 205 parts ways with Interstate 59 north for SR 698 at Collinsville. East from the town and Little Wills Valley, the state route climbs again onto Lookout Mountain to Leesburg in Cherokee County. SR 68 becomes Georgia 114 at the end of its 52.93 mile run northeast of Gaylesville.

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Interstate 59 remains along Big Ridge through Big Wills Valley to Fort Payne. Traffic counts are fairly low with 15,340 vehicles per day recorded along this stretch in 2010.

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The freeway enters the city limits of Fort Payne ahead of the County Road 51 overpass. The next exit joins I-59 with SR 35, serving travelers bound for DeSoto State Park or Little River Canyon National Preserve to the east via County Road 89 (Desoto Parkway) or SR 35.

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A commercialized diamond interchange (Exit 218) joins Interstate 59 with SR 35 (Glenn Boulevard) at Fort Payne in one mile.

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SR 35 merges with U.S. 11 (Gault Avenue) north through downtown Fort Payne to 5th Street Northeast. The state route arcs southeast from the city onto Lookout Mountain to Blanche and Gaylesville in Cherokee County.

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Northwest from Exit 218, SR 35 follows a four lane highway through Davis Gap of Sand Mountain eight miles to Rainsville. SR 35 ends its 68.29 mile journey at U.S. 72 near Woodville in Jackson County.

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Interstate 59 remains within the Fort Payne city limits for approximately seven more miles and the northward turn out of Big Wills Valley.

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Valley Head is the next town featured along Interstate 59 northbound distance signs at 14 miles out while Chattanooga is 54 miles to the northeast.

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U.S. 11 curves northwest from Gault Avenue onto Veterans Memorial Parkway to meet Interstate 59 at a diamond interchange (Exit 222) in one mile.

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Crossing Big Ridge, U.S. 11 enters Big Wills Valley before turning northeast again by Isbell Field, the city airport of Fort Payne.

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Exit 222 departs Interstate 59 north for U.S. 11 (Veterans Memorial Parkway). County Road 137 continues Gault Avenue northeast from U.S. 11 through Railroad Valley and Valley Head as U.S. 11 stays west of Little Ridge to Hammondville.

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Reassurance marker posted for Interstate 59 beyond Exit 224. U.S. 11 swaps sides with the freeway again beyond forthcoming Exit 224.

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The July 30, 2010-opened¹ diamond interchange with 49th Street in north Fort Payne preceded this distance sign posted 51 miles south of Chattanooga.

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49th Street provides an east-west connector from U.S. 11 and Interstate 59 (Exit 224) to Dekalb County 137 (Gault Avenue) at Fort Payne Industrial Park.

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Interstate 59 crosses Big Wills Creek ahead of the Exit 224 ramp departure to 49th Street. 49th Street was built on a new alignment across Big Ridge to replace the narrow winding 48th Street between U.S. 11 and Gault Avenue.

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Climbing again on the stretch of Interstate 59 northbound to Dugout Valley.

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Chattanooga is 48 miles to the northeast. No other control points are used on northbound distance signs of I-59 to the Georgia state line.

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Lining Dugout Valley east of Sand Mountain and west of Big Ridge in this scene of Interstate 59 north.

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Approaching the town of Hammondville and SR 117 (Exit 231) on Interstate 59 north. SR 40 splits with SR 117, 1.52 miles to the west and travels 21.18 miles to Henagar and SR 35 at its crossing of Guntersville Lake.

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One half mile south of the diamond interchange (Exit 231) with SR 117 in Hammondville. SR 117 lowers from Big Ridge 1.25 miles to a short merge with U.S. 11 before resuming eastward across Little Ridge into Valley Head.

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Northbound Interstate 59 reaches the Exit 231 off-ramp to SR 117. SR 117 totals 50.16 miles overall between Georgia 48, eight miles southeast of Mentone, to Stevenson and Tennessee 56 north of Pleasants Groves.

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Heading north from Hammondville, Interstate 59 continues through Dugout Valley.

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Interstate 59 ends in 34 miles at Interstate 24 with Chattanooga a seven mile drive east from there.

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Curving eastward parallel to Dry Ridge and Little Ridge along Interstate 59 north at milepost 233.

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Lookout Mountain in Dade County, Georgia appears on the northern horizon from Interstate 59 ahead of milepost 235 through Dugout Valley.

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Dekalb County 140 meets Interstate 59 at the final Alabama exit in one mile by Sulphur Springs.

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County Road 140 stems west from adjacent U.S. 11 to Interstate 59 at the Exit 239 diamond interchange.

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Sulphur Springs lies nearby via CR Road 739 from CR 140 and I-59 (Exit 239). CR 140 meanders westward onto Sand Mountain to SR 75 at the town of Ider.

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The final shield of Interstate 59 northbound posted within Alabama.

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Interstate 59 encircles Fox Mountain to Rising Fawn, Georgia. Chattanooga is a half hour drive to the northeast.

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Entering Dade County, Georgia along Interstate 59 north. The state boundary separates Central from Eastern Time Zones with northbound motorists losing an hour.

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