Alabama State Route 79

Infobox road
state=AL
type=AL
route=79
alternate_name=
length_mi=117
length_round=
length_ref= [ [http://colepages.com/routes5175.html#ala79 Highway Route Info Routes 51 - 75 ] ]
established=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=
junction=
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=
counties=Jefferson
Blount
Marshall
Jackson
previous_type=US
previous_route=78
next_type=US
next_route=80

State Route 79 is a 110 mile long route that extends northeastward from Birmingham to the Tennessee state line. Prior to the completion of Interstate 65, SR-79 was the southern part of the route that connected Birmingham and Huntsville.

The southern terminus of SR-79 is at the interchange of Tallapoosa Street with Interstate 20/Interstate 59 (Exit 128) near Birmingham International Airport. Prior to the completion of I-20/I-59, the terminus of SR-79 was at its junction with U.S. Highway 31, U.S. Highway 78 and U.S. Highway 280 at the intersection of 8th Avenue North and 24th Street in downtown Birmingham.

Route description

The highway is four-laned from Interstate 20/59 to a gap in Sand Mountain, where it passes under two Alabama Power transmission lines, one coming from the Miller Steam Plant. After leaving Tarrant, there is little retail development along Highway 79 in Jefferson County, although Wal-Mart plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter just south of Pinson.

After leaving Birmingham and Jefferson County, the route of SR-79 takes it through rural areas of Blount County, Marshall County and Jackson County and is largely a two-lane highway. Due to population growth in the area, there are long range plans to widen SR-79 to four lanes into southwestern Blount County. Aside from Birmingham, the only cities with a population exceeding 5,000 that SR-79 passes through are Guntersville and Scottsboro.

North of Scottsboro, SR-79 leads toward Winchester, Tennessee. North of the Tennessee state line, the route is numbered State Route 16.

Counties traversed

*Jefferson County
*Blount County
*Marshall County
*Jackson County

Cities and towns along the route

*Birmingham
*Tarrant
*Pinson
*County Line
*Locust Fork
*Cleveland
*Guntersville
*Scottsboro
*Skyline
*Hytop

Major intersections

* The southern terminus at Interstate 20/59 in Birmingham
* State Route 151, a short highway linking SR-79 with State Route 75 at Pinson
* State Route 160 at Cleveland
* U.S. Highway 231 at Cleveland. The two routes overlap until they split south of Blountsville
* U.S. Highway 278 west of Snead
* U.S. Highway 431 at Guntersville. The two routes overlap until they split north of the city
* State Route 69 at Guntersville
* State Route 279 south of Scottsboro
* U.S. Highway 72 at Scottsboro
* State Route 35 northwest of Scottsboro
* State Route 146 north of Skyline

References