Interstate 459

Interstate 459
Interstate 459
	I-459 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by ALDOT
Length	32.8 mi (52.8 km)
Existed	1984–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-20 / I-59 / US 11 near Bessemer, Alabama
	SR 150 in Hoover; US 31 in Hoover; I-65 in Hoover; US 280 in Birmingham; I-20 in Irondale; US 11 near Trussville;
North end	I-59 near Trussville
Location
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Highway system
	Interstate Highway System; Main; Auxiliary; Suffixed; Business; Future; Alabama State Highway System; Interstate; US; State;

Interstate 459 (I-459) is a bypass highway of I-59 that is an alternate Interstate Highway around the southern sides of Birmingham, Bessemer, and several other cities and towns in Jefferson County, Alabama. I-459 lies entirely within Jefferson County. This Interstate Highway is about 32.8 miles (52.8 km) long, and its construction was completed in 1984. I-459 has major interchanges with I-59, I-20, and I-65.

Route description

I-459 begins at a trumpet interchange with I-20/I-59 near the suburbs of Bessemer and McCalla. Exit 1, an interchange with Eastern Valley Road, provides access to the large Colonial Promenade shopping center and rapidly growing McCalla. The freeway then passes under Pocahontas Road and next to the Bent Brook Golf Club before intersecting with Morgan Road at Exit 6. Morgan Road connects with Bessemer, Helena, and the western fringes of Hoover along with the Bessemer Airport. After Morgan Road, I-459 enters a much more populated and developed area, namely the large suburb of Hoover. Once interchanging with State Route 150 at Exit 10, the highway turns northeastward and widens to 10 lanes. Exit 13 is with US 31, a major suburban route through Hoover, Vestavia Hills and Pelham. A southbound flyover ramp at this interchange provides direct access to the Riverchase Galleria. The freeway then approaches its interchange with I-65, one of two four-level stack interchanges in the state (the other being its interchange with I-20). After the I-65 interchange, the roadway decreases to 6 lanes and has a minor interchange with Acton Road at Exit 17. As it exits Hoover, I-459 intersects with US 280, an 8- to 10-lane suburban arterial that is one of the most congested roads in Greater Birmingham. The area around this interchange contains many hotels and office buildings. After the US 280 interchange, it turns north and enters a residential area along the Cahaba River, crossing the river twice before passing the "Miss Liberty" (Statue of Liberty replica) and the Exit 23 interchange with Liberty Parkway and Overton Road. The highway passes east of Mountain Brook while turning northeast and interchanging with Grants Mill Road at Exit 27. After this intersection, I-459 turns northward again as it approaches the growing suburb of Trussville. The interchange with I-20 is one of two stack interchanges in Greater Birmingham. In its last few miles, the highway intersects with Derby Parkway and US 11 in Trussville before completing its 33-mile course with an interchange at I-59.

History

Future

An additional interchange for I-459

Negotiations between the Alabama Department of Transportation and the City of Hoover are continuing regarding the prospective building of an additional interchange between I-459 and South Shades Crest Road, a heavily traveled traffic artery. An exit here would relieve some of the traffic congestion on Alabama Highway 150. No firm plans whatsoever have been announced for construction of this interchange.^[2]

Northern bypass

There are plans to construct another Interstate Highway bypass running north of the Birmingham area, to provide another Interstate Highway that would have major interchanges with I-59 (two), I-20 (one), I-65 (one), and the newly constructed I-22, with all of these interchanges being either north or west of Birmingham. This new bypass route has been tentatively numbered as I-422. When this northern bypass of the urban area is built, it would give Birmingham and Jefferson County a completely ringed Interstate bypass.

Exit list

The entire route is in Jefferson County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
	0.00	0.00	—	I-422 north to I-65 / US 78 / I-222 south / I-22Module:Jct error: Invalid "to" argument	Proposed continuation beyond I-59/I-20
			0	I-20 (US-11/SR-5/SR-7) / I-59 – Birmingham, Tuscaloosa	I-20/59 exit 106; southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern terminus & trumpet interchange for now & signed as left exit 0A (west/south) & 0B (east/north).
Bessemer			1	Bessemer, McCalla	Eastern Valley Road
			6	Helena, Bessemer	Morgan Road
				Shades Crest Road (CR 97)	Proposed to relieve congestion on exit 10
Hoover			10	SR 150 – Hoover, Bessemer	Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (formerly Regions Park); Riverchase Galleria
			13A	To SR 150	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			13B	US 31 (SR-3) – Hoover, Pelham	Signed as exit 13 northbound
			15	I-65 – Birmingham, Montgomery	I-65 exit 250
			17	Acton Road
Birmingham			19	US 280 (SR-38) – Mountain Brook, Childersburg
Birmingham			23	Liberty Parkway
Irondale			27	Grants Mill Road
Irondale			29	I-20 – Birmingham, Atlanta	I-20 exit 136
Birmingham			31	Derby Parkway
			32	US 11 (SR-7) – Trussville
	32.80	52.79	33	I-59 – Birmingham, Gadsden	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern terminus; I-59 exit 137; signed as left exit 33A (south) & 33B (north); directional T interchange.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Proposed Incomplete access