I am traveling south on I-65 through Birmingham. I hate I-65 in Birmingham! I noticed that just east of I-65 is a US31, have any of you traveled that road and if so how good is it?thanks,

US31 just parallels I-65 and goes thru downtown Birmingham, AL (Carraway Blvd) then turns into an Expressway for a while then back to US31.Don't see the benefit of using it unless you want to go downtown vs running I-65North/South---tough to bypass BirminghamEast/West...doable by using I-489Good Luck!

US31 through Birmingham is slow with a lot of stops. Really, I65 isn't bad. Oak mountain on the south side is a good overnight stop. Quiet and reasonable. The access to the campground is from the south end of the park.

I have been traveling from Fl. to Northwest Al. for 26 years and as state previously, unless you want to go on a lot of sides roads and endure downtown stop and go traffic in an RV there is not much you can do going north and south. Pick a non-rush hour take it easy and in 20 minutes you are through.

IF you think you hate I65 wait till you try US31. There is no rational route through Birmingham other than the interstate.

As in all cities the roads are rough and more traffic but Birmingham is not bad. As suggested pick non-rush hour time and take a lane that goes thru so usually one off the exit lanes and stay put and let traffic navigate around you. Safe travels.

bypass Birmingham, AL | Good Sam Community

16 Replies

blakduk01
Explorer
Oct 28, 2015
There is one alternative. Take I-459 and go around Birmingham. It connects I-65 on thenorth and south. It is longer probably by 30 minutes, but if you are that fearfull of I-65 then it is an alternative. Just don't do either one during rush hour. I have done both, both ways and find very little to worry about, just stay in the right lane and let people go by.

AFK
Teacher_s_Pet
Explorer
Oct 22, 2015
My 2015 Rand McNally Trucker's Atlas shows I-22 had been connected to I-65. We were making a run from Gaffney SC to Red Bay AL on 8/1/15, found out it can lie! Had to backtrack and take US78W from downtown. :(
Preacher_Man
Explorer
Oct 22, 2015
gsander1 wrote:
Preacher Man wrote:
Anyone know when the I-22 interchange will be finished in Birmingham?

I'd guess NEVER!

Looks like mid December is the latest date... ;)
Groover
Explorer II
Oct 22, 2015
Hoosier Cruiser wrote:
US31 through Birmingham is slow with a lot of stops. Really, I65 isn't bad. Oak mountain on the south side is a good overnight stop. Quiet and reasonable. The access to the campground is from the south end of the park.

A little secret that I just discovered is that there is an equestrian campground just inside the entrance (less than 100 yards). If you are just passing through it is a great place to spend the night. The main campground takes an extra 10 minutes each way to get to. The equestrian campground has full hookups but no bath house. Not much privacy but nice pull through sites and it is very quiet.

I go through Birmingham a lot. I try to avoid rush hour but I would rather do B'ham twice than Nashville once.
gsander1
Explorer
Oct 20, 2015
Preacher Man wrote:
Anyone know when the I-22 interchange will be finished in Birmingham?

I'd guess NEVER!
Preacher_Man
Explorer
Oct 20, 2015
Anyone know when the I-22 interchange will be finished in Birmingham?
Rwake901
Explorer
Oct 19, 2015
Just went through Birmingham last week on our way back from Florida. No problems going through there it's Nashville that we always have traffic problems with.
Elbert
Explorer
Oct 18, 2015
as noted stay on I65....there is no real bypass that is a time-saver
mikestock
Explorer
Oct 16, 2015
Try to avoid rush hours. It should get better if they ever finish that massive interchange with I-22 from north Birmingham to Memphis. Roads are rough through Birmingham as they are through most heavily populated cities.

At least we don't have the daily freeze and thaw problems in Winter, like a lot of northern cities. Try parts of I-95. That's where you really need to use your Polident and need to have your stuff tied down.
Horsedoc
Explorer II
Oct 15, 2015
Only good thing about downtown B'ham is Dream Land BBQ, but that is a subject for a different discussion. ;)