Alabama State Route 5

Infobox road
state=AL
type=SR
route=5
length_mi=197.775
length_ref=Alabama Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.state.al.us/NR/rdonlyres/7B15B300-359D-413A-A7FA-ED33C8C261CD/0/CountyMilePostMaps.pdf County Milepost Maps] , accessed September 2007]
length_round=3
established=
direction_a=South
terminus_a=jct|state=AL|US|43 in Thomasville
junction=jct|state=AL|SR|14 in Marion
jct|state=AL|US|82 near Centreville
jct|state=AL|I|20|I|59 in Birmingham
jct|state=AL|SR|69 in Jasper
direction_b=North
terminus_b=jct|state=AL|US|278|SR|13 in Natural Bridge
previous_type=SR
previous_route=4
next_type=SR
next_route=6

State Route 5 is a north-south state highway is the western part of the U.S. state of Alabama. While it once extended - prior to the 1957 renumbering - from Mobile north to Tennessee, and was one of the major routes between Mobile and Birmingham, [State Farm, [http://www.geocities.com/rvdroz/us53se.jpgRoad
] , Rand McNally & Company, 1953: note how SR-5 is one of only a few non-U.S. Highways shown in Alabama] it has since been shortened to about half of its former length, and superseded by newer highways such as Interstate 65 and State Route 157.

Route description

In essence, SR-5 is two separate routes. The first leg of the route begins at the southern terminus of the route at the junction with U.S. Highway 43 at Thomasville. For the next 135 miles, the route heads to the northeast towards Birmingham, passing through the rural areas of Alabama’s Black Belt. In northern Bibb County, SR-5 junctions with U.S. Highway 11, then Interstate 20/Interstate 59 and continues its northeastward trajectory. SR-5 is co-routed with US-11 for 30 miles between Woodstock and Birmingham.

The second section of the route begins near historic Legion Field in Birmingham, where US-11 and SR-5 junction U.S. Highway 78. There, the overlap of SR-5 and U.S. Highway 11 end, and the 40 mile long overlap of SR-5 and US-78 begins. US-78 and SR-5 head northwestwardly towards Jasper, passing through the suburbs of Forestdale, Adamsville and Graysville. At Jasper, SR-5 splits from US-78, continuing through rural areas of Walker County and Winston County. The northern terminus of SR-5 is at its junction with U.S. Highway 278 and State Route 13 at Natural Bridge.

History

In the original numbering of state roads in the mid-1920s, the corridors that would become SR-5 had several numbers. SR-6 occupied the road from Mobile north via Thomasville to Selma. SR-35 split from SR-6 at Safford and ran northeast near Woodstock, where traffic could continue to Birmingham on SR-2 (US-11). SR-43 split from SR-8 (US-78) at Jasper, taking traffic from Montgomery via US-78 to Phil Campbell. (SR-43 also ran southwest from Jasper to SR-33 at Bankston, though the exact route had not been defined by 1927.) From there, travelers could continue north on part of SR-5 to Florence and SR-50 to the Tennessee state line, where the road became Tennessee State Route 6 towards Lawrenceburg and Nashville.Rand McNally [http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/NorthAmerica/UnitedStates/Southeast/Alabama/ Auto Road Atlas] , 1926] State Highway Department of Alabama, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html System of State Roads] , revised January 1, 1927]

By late 1928 , a large renumbering had been carried out. The new SR-5 stretched from Mobile to Tennessee via Birmingham and Florence, and included several former routes: most of SR-6, all of SR-35, most of SR-43, part of SR-5, and all of SR-50. The remainders of SR-35 and SR-43 became parts of SR-22 and SR-18; old SR-5 was split among several routes. The two halves of new SR-5 were linked between near Woodstock and Jasper by overlaps with SR-7 (US-11) and SR-4 (US-78) via Birmingham.General Drafting Company, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html State Road Map of Alabama] , Fall of 1928] US-43 was added to the route south of Thomasville and north of Phil Campbell in 1933 or 1934; in between it used a shorter route, mainly SR-13.General Drafting Company, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html State Road Map of Alabama] , 1933] General Drafting Company, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html State Road Map of Alabama] , November 1934]

Except for minor relocations and widenings, SR-5 remained the same until the 1950s. Around 1950, a new road, running southeast from SR-5 at Haleyville to local roads at Natural Bridge, was added to the state highway system as SR-195.Alabama State Highway Department, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html Alabama Highways] , 1949] Alabama State Highway Department, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html Alabama State Highway System] , 1951] State maintenance was extended southeast from Natural Bridge to SR-5 near Jasper by 1957, and that year, in the 1957 renumbering, substantial changes were made to SR-5. Both portions that were cosigned with US-43 - south of Thomasville and north of Phil Campbell - became SR-13, which essentially became the unsigned partner to US-43 across the state. (SR-13 used a shorter alignment between Bankston and Haleyville, joining SR-5 at Natural Bridge and making the north end of SR-5 an overlap with SR-13; US-43 has never been moved to this route.) In addition, SR-5 and SR-195 were swapped between Jasper and Haleyville, giving SR-5 a more direct route that had just been paved. This removed almost half of the original length of SR-5, making it a sideways V-shaped route with both ends at US-43 and the point at Birmingham. Alabama State Highway Department, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html 1955-1956 Official Highway Map] ] Alabama State Highway Department, [http://alabamamaps.ua.edu/historicalmaps/stateroads/index.html Official 1957 Alabama Highway Map] ]

Major intersections

References