Alabama Has One Of The Most Dangerous Highways In The World
Now every state has what they consider the most dangerous highway, but which state has what is called the most dangerous highway in America?
Which highway are you asking yourself? This is a 353-mile stretch of highway that runs from southern Alabama up to the Tennessee border. US Route 431 has been named “ Highway to Hell”.
Now kudos to the Alabama Department of Transportation for doing its best to improve safety on the highway. Yet, it is still considered the most dangerous, so I assume they need to keep working on safety concerns.
Why is the “Highway to Hell” so dangerous? Let’s see, low visibility, high speeds, dangerous curves, and several lane changes. Yes, I have driven this highway a few times and yes I have witnessed many accidents on this stretch of roadway. In my opinion, lane changes are very dangerous. You can’t safely go from doing 65 MPH on a four-lane road to 45 MPH on a now two-lane road.
Now I wonder are there other Alabama roads that are considered dangerous? I am not talking about the roads in towns that can be dangerous to us local drivers. I’m talking about highways we use to travel away from home.
So my fellow Alabamians, while driving these highways, stay safe…Interstate 10. Now, this highway is listed as dangerous because of the low visibility at night. This highway runs from East to West. From Mississippi to Florida. So if you find yourself traveling this stretch of road, stay off it at night.
I59, we have all been on this route. It’s been referred to in the past as “malfunction junction”, when I59 crosses over I65. The misfortunate design has since been reconfigured, but it still has caused many accidents. So safely proceed with caution at this junction.
Now let’s talk about the other half of the malfunction junction. I65, yes this is Alabama’s biggest North to South highway. Anyone who has driven this highway needs no explanation as to why it’s dangerous! For those that haven’t, the best advice I can give you is to just plan another route. The up-and-down slopes can impair your vision and in the wet condition, you can find what I like to call “lakes” on the roadway.
Now a local roadway. Yes, we made the list, unfortunately. I20, which has some calling it the “Bloody 20.” What makes this highway so dangerous is the speed limit and truck traffic. We locals of course may hate driving this highway, but as long as we pay attention and obey the speed limit we can make it from point A to B without an incident.
The last one on our list is I85. This one made the list because of the weather. So if the weather is nice your drive should be fine also. For me, after researching the list of the most dangerous highways, I may never wander too far from home again.
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Gallery Credit: Mary K
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Gallery Credit: Mary K