Interstate 59 Reconstruction Begins

VALLEY HEAD, AL. (WDEF) – Drivers traveling through northeast Alabama should expect delays and changing traffic patterns as a major reconstruction project begins along Interstate 59 near the Georgia state line.

The Alabama Department of Transportation says the $47.5 million project is now underway on 16 miles of I-59 southbound in DeKalb County. 

The work stretches from the state line to just north of the U.S. 11 overpass in Fort Payne. About 10 miles will be fully rebuilt, while six miles will undergo major rehabilitation.

Construction is currently focused on the first phase, a roughly one-mile section between the Georgia state line and just south of the Alabama Welcome Center on I-59 southbound. 

Drivers should expect single-lane closures as crews complete milling and paving work in the area.

Beginning June 1, the Alabama Welcome Center on I-59 southbound in DeKalb County is expected to close for about 90 days while contractors reconstruct the outside travel lane nearby. 

Once that work is completed, traffic will shift onto the rebuilt lane, and the welcome center is expected to reopen as crews move to the inside lane.

Later phases of the project will bring larger traffic changes. Southbound traffic will temporarily shift onto the northbound side of I-59 during extended construction periods, with barriers separating traffic in both directions while full sections of roadway are rebuilt.

The project is part of ALDOT’s ongoing effort to address aging infrastructure along Interstate 59 in northeast Alabama. 

Since 2020, the agency has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into large-scale reconstruction projects aimed at improving long-term roadway conditions.

ALDOT expects the overall project to be completed in February 2029.