Interstate 65 Alabama
Interstate 65 travels the height of the state between Mobile and the Tennessee state line. The freeway serves the three largest cities and counties of Alabama.
Interstate 65 stays west of the built-up areas of Saraland and Satsuma and sees rural like interchanges with Celeste Road and U.S. 43. This view looks north at the four-lane freeway from the Mobile County 41 diamond interchange. Photo taken 07/17/07.
Interstate 65 Highway Guides
Alabama's first section of Interstate highway opened to traffic was an eight mile stretch of Interstate 65 north of Birmingham. The freeway replaced U.S. 31 near the community of Warrior when it opened December 10, 1959.1 26 miles of Interstate 65 opened between Clanton and Calera on March 23, 1961.2 Just a week later, a 16-mile drive from a point 5.6 miles north of Warrior to Cullman opened on April 1, 1961.3 The first section of Interstate 65 to open in Mobile was the 6.816-mile segment between U.S. 90 (Government Boulevard) and U.S. 45 (St. Stephens Road) on January 4, 1963. The road cost $12.7 million to build.4
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5.8 miles of Interstate 65 between U.S. 31 and Pine Level opened to traffic in 1965.5 Work on completing Interstate 65 in northern Alabama continued with the May 20, 1981 opening of an 11.7-mile section between Alabaster and Hoover.6 Later that year Interstate 65's bridge and elevated section over the Mobile River delta opened at a cost of $136 million on October 2.7 The last stretch in the state was completed December 19, 1985 entailing the 14 miles between Lewisburg and Warrior.8
Dead Lake Road meanders east from U.S. 43 at Creola to Dead Lake under the Mobile River Delta bridges of Interstate 65. The only ground-level accessible view of the Interstate 65 Mobile River Delta bridges by car is available from this road. Photo taken 06/03.
Signs posted periodically along Interstate 65 throughout the state of Alabama refer to it as the "Heroes' Highway". This designation was established in July 2002 in remembrance of Johnny Michael Spann, a CIA officer killed in the Afghanistan war and the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001.
A gander at the westward view from the Alabama 225 overpass over Interstate 65. In the distance, the beginning of the Tensaw River bridge is visible. Pavement in southern Alabama, northwest Florida, and southern Mississippi is often bleached red. This is due to the native red clay that is used for the bases of roadways in the region. Photo taken 07/01.
| Scenes pertaining to Interstate 65 |
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Northbound along the East I-65 Service Road at the on-ramp to Interstate 65 north of U.S. 98 (Moffett Road) in Mobile. Photo taken 11/21/08. |
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Interstate 65 northbound shield posted along the I-65 Service Road north at Exit 22 in Creola. The service road parallels the freeway from Lister Dairy Road to the Jim Bell Branch. Photo taken 10/25/03. |
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A companion shield directs traffic from the I-65 Service Road in Creola onto Interstate 65 north in Creola. The Sailor Road bridge over Interstate 65 opened in 1976. Interstate 65 otherwise ended here between 1970 and 1981. Photo taken 10/25/03. |
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Escambia County 1 southbound at the Interstate 65 southbound on-ramp at Exit 54. County Road 1 joins the freeway with the Poarch Creek Indian Reservation and Atmore. Photo taken 06/01/02. |
Sources:
- "First Link Of State's New Interstate System To Be Opened." Times Daily (Florence, AL), December 3, 1959.
- "Another Section Of Interstate Highway Opened." Times Daily (Florence, AL), March 23, 1961.
- "Another Section Of Highway Opens." Times Daily (Florence, AL), March 31, 1961.
- "Patterson Helps Dedicate Road." The Tuscaloosa News, January 6, 1963.
- "61 Miles of Interstate Will Open During 1965." Times Daily (Florence, AL), May 11, 1965.
- "Interstate section opening up." The Tuscaloosa News, May 20, 1981.
- "James Dedicates Bridge; Links Montgomery, Mobile." Times Daily (Florence, AL), October 3, 1981.
- "Highway official says I-65 delays may have benefited Birmingham." Gadsden Times, December 19, 1985.
Page Updated January 13, 2010.
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