Interstate 59 in Alabama

Interstate 59 (I-59) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs 445.23 miles (716.53 km) from Slidell, Louisiana, to just outside of Wildwood, Georgia. In the U.S. state of Alabama, I-59 travels 239.91 miles (386.10 km) from the Mississippi state line near Cuba to the Georgia state line northeast of Hammondville. It serves as the main Interstate Highway connecting the cities of Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Gadsden. For more than half of its length in the state, I-59 runs concurrently with I-20. Past the routes' split in eastern Birmingham on their way to Georgia, I-20 takes a shorter path through Birmingham's eastern suburbs and the southern foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, while I-59 follows a longer route through the city's northern suburbs and over the mountains on its way to Gadsden.

Of the four states which I-59 covers, the segment in Alabama is the longest and accounts for more than half of its entire length overall. The Interstate parallels the older U.S. Route 11 (US 11) corridor for its full extent within the state. I-59 was first signed into the Interstate Highway System in 1957, and construction began in 1960. The portions of the highway were completed slowly, with the very last segment being opened in 1980. Since then, many projects have been undertaken on I-59 to relieve congestion within the metropolitan areas it passes. The Interstate has three auxiliary routes: I-359 in Tuscaloosa, I-459 within the Birmingham metropolitan area, and I-759 in Gadsden.