U.S. Route 431 in Alabama - Four Lane Routing

Four Lane Routing

One of the criticisms of US-431 in its entirety from Kentucky to Alabama was that it was mainly a two lane road. ALDOT has prioritized four laning the route in Alabama as a viable north–south road corridor in the eastern part of the state.

• Photo of the old alignment of US 431 between Pittsview and Barbour County line, scene to many vehicular fatalities until it was bypassed in 2008.

Of particular concern was the segment from Seale south to the Barbour County line, where rolling hills along the original alignment limit the visibility of oncoming traffic, contributing to poor decisions by motorists to pass, resulting in numerous head on collisions. In this segment alone, 31 people were killed in crashes between 1992 and 2006, leading Readers Digest to proclaim it one of "America's Deadliest Highways" in 2000. After being contacted by and subsequently meeting the family of a fatal crash victim in 2003, ALDOT Director Joe McInnes decided to expedite the construction on the last remaining stretch of two lane road between Seale and the Barbour County line. This 16 mile section was completed and opened in late 2010. The old alignment in Russell County is still open to traffic and is now labeled County Route 137.

Traveling south from Tennessee, as of mid 2009, US-431 is a four lane route to Oxford, Alabama. Then it reverts to a two lane highway southward to Opelika, Alabama with a brief four lane stretch just south of Wedowee, Alabama. From Opelika southward to its southern terminus in Dothan, Alabama, US-431 is now open as a four lane highway. with the exception of a short stretch as a low speed divided avenue through the historic district of Eufaula, Alabama.