1. Route description
    Alabama  Georgia 

2. History

3. Major intersections

4. References

5. External links

U.S. Route 280 is a spur of U.S. Highway 80. It currently runs for 392 miles (631 km) from Blichton, Georgia at U.S. Highway 80 to Birmingham, Alabama at I-20/I-59. For much of its route, U.S. 280 travels through rural areas and smaller cities in southern Georgia and east central Alabama. Once the highway approaches Birmingham, it is a major suburban route. Numerous shopping centers are located on U.S. 280 throughout northern Shelby County and southern Jefferson County.

U.S. Route 280 is the main connector between Birmingham, AL and Auburn, AL.

Through Talladega County, Alabama, U.S. 280 is known as the Jim Nabors Highway, in honor of the Sylacauga, Alabama, native known for portraying the television character Gomer Pyle. The historical designation of US-280 and Alabama SR-38 is the Florida Short Route.

For many years, US-280 and SR-38 was considered one of the more dangerous routes in Alabama, due to the number of large stretches of narrow two-lane roadway leading southeastwardly from Birmingham. Work was completed in 2006 making U.S. 280 a four-lane highway throughout the entire state of Alabama. This project began in the 1970s. As a result, U.S. 280 now bypasses numerous small towns in east Alabama, including Goodwater, Jackson's Gap, Camp Hill and Waverly.

In Georgia, US 280 from Columbus to I-16 is also a Governor's Road Improvement Program (GRIP) corridor known as "Power Alley".^[1]

Route description

Alabama

U.S. 280 terminates concurrently with U.S. 31 at I-20/I-59. U.S. 31 continues onward at this point. This major junction is currently closed as is the stretch of I-20/I-59 between this interchange and Interstate 65. ^[2]

The route continues through downtown Birmingham with U.S. 31. They junction with U.S. 11 and U.S. 78 and climb over Red Mountain into Mtn. Brook. Here, U.S. 280 splits off of U.S. 31 at a highly complex interchange with elements of a Directional-T and a Parclo.

It continues on somewhat of a freeway through Mtn. Brook, eventually reaching The Summit, a huge outdoor mall. It also junctions with I-459 at this point, at a Parclo-like interchange which is being modified to better suit traffic. ^[3]

The route continues through one of the more developed areas of east Birmingham and eventually climbs up a very slight hill into Shelby County and Chelsea. It continues east to Harpersville, which is home to its junction with U.S. 231 north and AL-25. U.S. 231 continues with U.S. 231 until it reaches the Coosa River, which it crosses into Talladega County. It eventually reaches Sylacauga, which is home to its junction with U.S. 231 south and AL-21. This specific junction is a diamond interchange, commonly used on full-blown freeways.

The route continues south-east through northern Coosa County until it has another diamond interchange with AL-9. It then passes through Kellyton, which is home to its minor junction with AL-115.

It crosses into Tallapoosa County just before entering Alexander City, which is home to Russell Athletic. U.S. 280 junctions with AL-22 and AL-63 in the city. It then proceeds through slightly hilly terrain to Dadeville. It junctions with AL-49, which connects the route to the Talladega National Forest/Cheaha State Park. It leaves Dadeville, promptly enters Camp Hill, junctions with AL-50, and enters the southwestern corner of Chambers County, and then crosses into Lee County.

The route then reaches The Bottle, which is named for some weird statue placed near U.S. 280. It crosses into Auburn, which is barely skimmed by U.S. 280 as it then crosses into nearby Opelika. The route junctions with U.S. 29/ I-85. It joins the freeway with them and continues through I-85's junction with AL-51. It then splits off of the road with U.S. 431.

It continues on a heavily traveled road into Russell County, and eventually to Phenix City, which is actually in the Eastern Time Zone due to its close proximity with Columbus, Georgia across the Chattahoochee River. It junctions with U.S. 80. The route then leaves U.S. 431 behind and crosses the Chattahoochee River, leaving Alabama and entering Georgia in Columbus.

The U.S. Highway has a length of {{convert|141.356|mi|km}} in Alabama.

Georgia

US 280 begins in Georgia at the state's border with Alabama in Columbus. There it is paired with State Route 520 and U.S. Route 27. It maintains this designation as it passes through Fort Benning. US 280 continues east, where it passes through Plains (the boyhood home of Jimmy Carter) and becomes cosigned State Route 30 in Americus. It maintains this designation until the route's terminus in Blichton.

History

Prior to the completion of the Elton B. Stephens Expressway in Birmingham, US 31, US 78, and US 280 traveled concurrently until they intersected US 11 at the intersection of 1st Avenue North and 24th Street.

Major intersections

External links

• Endpoints of U.S. Highway 280

• Composite portrait
• Composite reinforcement
• Composite Repairs
• Composite repairs
• Composite rules shinty-hurling
• Composite Signals Organisation
• Composite Squadron 21
• Composite Squadron VC-33
• Composite state
• Composite statistic
• Composite Truth
• Composite Truth (album)
• Composite Unit Training Exercise
• Composite Video, Blanking, and Sync.
• Composite Volcano
• Compositing (disambiguation)
• Compositio Mathematica
• Compositional
• Compositional banding
• Compositional cycle
• Compositional domain
• Compositional domain model
• Compositional Domains Model
• Compositional fragment
• Compositionalism