Interstate 85 in Alabama

Interstate 85 or I -85 is an Interstate Highway in the US state of Alabama. The highway runs from the state capital Montgomery in the middle of the state to Lanett on the Georgia border. The road then continues towards Atlanta. The highway is 129 kilometers long.

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Travel directions

I-85 at Cusseta, east of Opelika.

The highway begins at downtown Montgomery on Interstate 65, which runs south to Mobile, and north to Birmingham. The I-85 is below ground level and has 2×3 lanes. Montgomery is a fairly large city with 202,000 inhabitants. After the city ring road, the road narrows to 2×2 lanes. You then pass through a predominantly forest area, with occasional open meadows. Soon after Montgomery, US 80 turns off, which runs parallel to I-85, and finally to Columbus, Georgiaruns. Like most American highways, I-85 has a hefty space reservation in the median strip. The area through which I-85 runs is not very densely populated, with mostly villages. The largest town you pass by is Auburn, which has a population of 52,000. Here one also crosses US 29, which comes from Pensacola in Florida, and then runs parallel to I-85. The area is becoming increasingly densely forested. Opelika crosses two US Highways, US 280, which runs from Columbus to Birmingham, and US 431, which also runs from Columbus to Anniston and Gadsden, two regional towns in eastern Alabama. At Lanett one crosses the Chattahoochee River, also the border with Georgia. Here Interstate 85 in Georgia continues to Atlanta.

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History

Not all I-85 opening dates are known, but the highway was opened during the 1960s. The section between Opelika and Cusseta opened around 1963. A 16-mile (16-mile) section between Montgomery and Auburn opened in 1965, and the remaining sections probably opened around 1966.

Future

Montgomery Outer Loop

In Montgomery, work began in 2011 to relocate I-85 to the south side of town. The highway will turn south just east of Montgomery, then run along the south side of Montgomery, joining I-65 just south of Hope Hull. Initially, only a junction was built and a short stretch up to Vaughn Road, a stretch of approximately 4 kilometers. This section opened to traffic on January 26, 2016. The Outer Loop is temporarily numbered State Route 108 until the entire route up to I-65 is completed. Construction of the rest of the Montgomery Outer Loop is subject to funding availability. It is planned that when the South Beltway is complete, the old I-85 to Downtown Montgomery will be renumbered as I-685.

Montgomery – Cuba (I-20)

There are also plans to extend I-85 west from Montgomery to Interstate 20 near Cuba, an extension of approximately 200 kilometers parallel to US 80. In 2010, the AASHTO approved the extension and in February 2011, the new route was approved by the FHWA. It is not planned to be turned into a toll road, meaning construction could be a long time coming as there is usually no funding available for such large projects.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 102,000 vehicles pass the I-65 interchange in Montgomery, peaking at a maximum of 115,000 vehicles in the east of Montgomery, then falling to 95,000 vehicles in the east of the city and rapidly declining to 45,000 vehicles in the eastern suburbs. Then 40,000 vehicles drive to Auburn and Opelika, peaking at 54,000 vehicles in Opelika. There are 44,000 vehicles per day on the Georgia border.

Lane Configuration

Alabama State Route 255

State Route 255 is a state route and partial freeway in the U.S. state of Alabama. The highway forms the western perimeter of the northern city of Huntsville and is 10 miles long.

Travel directions

State Route 255 begins just south of the Interstate 565 interchange in western Huntsville and heads north with 2×2 lanes. The highway runs through western Huntsville, an area of ​​malls and office parks. North of US 72, State Route 255 has frontage roads. This area is not yet fully developed. The highway intersects State Route 53 and then narrows to Bob Wade Lane, the frontage roads for a future highway extension.

History

State Route 255 was created as a bypass of Huntsville in the late 1960s. The first connections opened in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1996, the highway extended just south of State Route 53. In 2012-2013, the freeway opened over State Route 53.

Future

SR-255 has frontage roads to the north of Huntsville to allow for a future freeway in the median strip.