Nearly 40 miles of interstate roadway replaced in DeKalb and Etowah counties to date
A reconstructed four-mile segment of I-59 northbound between Hammondville and Sulphur Springs in DeKalb County opened to traffic today.
The segment from milepost 233 to milepost 237 had been closed, with traffic diverted, for about 10 months.
Its opening marks substantial completion of a $41 million project to demolish and replace eight miles of the northbound roadway from about milepost 233, north of Hammondville, to the Georgia state line.
The contractor, Wiregrass Construction, previously reconstructed another four-mile segment from milepost 237 to milepost 241, at the state line, opening it to traffic in November 2025.
Final work
ALDOT advises motorists that the area remains an active work zone.
Please expect single-lane closures for removal of temporary crossovers and other final work items. The contractor will also relocate concrete barriers from the southbound roadway and install them on the new northbound roadway — removing the existing traffic diversion and setting up a future diversion for a project to reconstruct the southbound roadway.
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I-59 reconstruction
Deterioration of the original concrete roadway necessitated total reconstruction of parts of I-59 in northeast Alabama.
Since 2020, ALDOT has awarded $239.2 million across six contracts to reconstruct and rehabilitate I-59 in DeKalb and Etowah counties.
So far, these projects have put 39 miles of reconstructed roadway into service, with another 21 miles under construction or under contract for replacement or rehabilitation.
In addition to the near-complete northbound project between Hammondville and the state line, two other projects on I-59 in DeKalb County remain ongoing.
Southbound from state line to Fort Payne
A separate, $47.5 million project to reconstruct and rehabilitate a total of about 16 miles of the southbound roadway from the Georgia state line to Fort Payne started in May.
Wiregrass Construction is also the contractor on that project.
Currently, Wiregrass is reconstructing a single mile of the outside lane near the state line and the Alabama Welcome Center.
Following its anticipated mid-October completion, the contractor will reopen the outside lane and begin reconstructing the inside lane.
The welcome center will reopen to travelers at that time.
Subsequent phases of the project will reconstruct several miles of the entire roadway at a time.
ALDOT anticipates completion of that project in 2029.
Southbound between Collinsville and Reece City
Another project, to reconstruct ten miles of the southbound roadway between Collinsville in DeKalb County and Reece City in Etowah County, recently entered its second phase.
The $40.7 project with contractor Vulcan Materials will reconstruct from just south of Exit 205 at SR-68 in Collinsville to south of the Stephens Gap Road overpass. Completed, the southern half of the project, from mileposts 199.5 to milepost 194.5, opened to traffic in July.
Vulcan is currently demolishing and removing the concrete of the southbound roadway from just south of Exit 205 to milepost 199.5. The segment will remain closed until late summer of 2027.
Previous I-59 projects
Three earlier projects replaced the northbound roadway between Reece City and Collinsville and from SR-35 in Fort Payne to north of SR-40/SR-117 in Hammondville.
When all current projects are complete, ALDOT will have reconstructed nearly two-thirds of I-59 from south of Stephens Gap Road in Etowah County to the state line. Many additional miles will have undergone widening and rehabilitation as part of these projects.
Upcoming projects
ALDOT anticipates letting late this year or early next year a seventh project, which will reconstruct the northbound roadway, from north of SR-68 at Collinsville to Exit 218 at SR-35 in Fort Payne.
Design is underway for an eighth project, which will reconstruct the corresponding segment of southbound roadway between Fort Payne and Collinsville.
