I65 through Birmingham, AL

[diftw]

We went through Burmingham Saturday southbound on I 65. That road was horrid. Very bumpy. Broke a Yakima bar on one of our bikes. Any suggestions to bypass that road? Heading northbound going home Friday.

Thanks.

[ADAD437]

that should have the title of WORST road in the world. i go out of my way to avoid bham.

[car2900]

The really bad part of I-65 starts about 7 miles north of Birmingham and starts to lighten up as you near I-459 on the south, almost exactly 16 terrible miles of white knuckle driving. Hold on to the stearing wheel with both hands. A different route would add too many miles to the trip.

[diftw]

Well we went through Birmingham on I65 both northbound and southbound. It is rougher than a cobb both directions. Actually broke a Yakima bar on one of our bikes while going southbound. Fortunately we had the bikes secured well or one of them would have come off of the rack. They need to grind the pavement. Pretty bad.

[Horsedoc]

They have been working on I-22 for years and still have not completed it. I-20 is on the last phases of reworking at the Georgia line now. I-20 inside the east by-pass is like a war zone and I don't go there unless there is no other way. Only thing worth going downtown for is Dreamland BBQ

[Horsedoc]

They have been working on I-22 for years and still have not completed it. I-20 is on the last phases of reworking at the Georgia line now. I-20 inside the east by-pass is like a war zone and I don't go there unless there is no other way. Only thing worth going downtown for is Dreamland BBQ

[jnharley]

We have been thru Birmingham both north and southbound three times this year with no issues. Yes, there is construction zones. Maybe we were just lucky because we did not have one thing out if place in our 5th wheel. I do not think the road is worse than anywhere else.

[DutchmenSport]

I'm been sounding the alarm about that stretch of road for about 3 years now, and seems some folks just don't listen. For whatever reason (maybe because they have never actually driven it towing something) they think the problem is construction. Construction is not the problem. The problem is, the road is just horrid... bumpy. We traveled that road twice in the last 3 years going to Panama City City Florida from Central Indiana. The last time I was determined to take an alternate route, but somehow found ourselves right back on I-65 South. The inside of the camper looked like a bomb exploded after we got through there.

Coming back, we took I-75 and on up to Cincinnatti and then over to Indy and back home.

Some folks just don't get it. Maybe driving an automobile or a vehicle with an air-ride suspension, you'd not notice it so much. But put a camper on the back of a one-ton and it's a whole different ball-game driving that road.

I-75 is your best work around.

[RoyB]

Alabama has had a long history of having the 8-foot sections of concrete payments buckling in that area. I59 in the Gadsden and Fort Payne area was very bad for years. Haven't been that way in awhile now so don't know if it was ever fixed or. All of the truckers would run in the very far left hand lanes or run on the side of the highway (at full speed mind you)... I was working in Wichita Falls with the NAVY SPAWAR Charleston SC bunch and made several trips up and down that stretch of road in a three-four month period. My OFF-ROAD POPUP TRAILER would be coming off the ground just running 45MPH. Every 8-foot concrete slab was buckled on the right side of the Interstate roadway for many miles.. I couldn't run the left hand side of the Interstate for fear I would get run over by the heavy Truck traffic haha... This was in the early 2000's

It bounced my trailer so bad my roof mounted air conditioner worked it self loose and I almost lost it one trip before I noticed it was so loose... Nothing like doing air conditioner maintenance in a Alabama reststop on I65 pull out area haha... My air conditioner was so loose it has rotated in the 14-inch square hole some. I saw it bouncing funny looking back in my mirror's

I have never been through the city of Birmingham but have been on the I59 bypass around the south of the town and connected to I65 to head for Tuscaloosa to pick up US82 to head on in to Wichita Falls TX. The I65 road between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa was always under some sort of construction back then...

Roy Ken

[sch911]

It's been crappy for years. We've learned to slow way down through town and it seems there is a speed at which it's not as bad. All options for bypassing would add additional time which were not willing to do.

[diftw]

There was not really any construction that was an issue-it was the bumpiness of the pavement.

[Alabama_Jim]

I 65 around Birmingham is always under construction and traffic backed up. You can try Hwy 31 North. If you are in FL you can come up I 75 to Atlanta and work your back North.