State Route 21
Length:	278 mi1 (447 km)
South end:	FL 97 at the Florida state line
Major junctions:	US-31 at Atmore I-65 at Atmore US-84 at Monroeville US-31 at Montgomery US-80 at Montgomery US-82 at Montgomery I-65 at Montgomery US-331 at Montgomery US-231 at Montgomery I-85 at Montgomery US-280 at Sylacauga SR-77 at Talladega I-20 at Oxford US-78/ US-431 at Oxford
North end:	SR-9 at Piedmont
Alabama State Routes < SR-20 I-22 >

State Route 21 is a 278-mile state highway that extends from Piedmont in Calhoun County to the Florida state line near Atmore in Escambia County. The route runs almost the entire length of the state from the northeast to the southwest.

Route description

Starting at a junction with SR-9 in Piedmont, the route runs southwest through Anniston, Talledega and Sylacauga. The route passes close to the Talladega Superspeedway and the Talladega National Forest. After Sylacauga the road is co-routed with U.S. Highway 231 as it heads almost directly south towards the state capital, Montgomery. Southeastroads.com gives this opinion on the part of the highway through Montgomery:

"Alabama 21 gets lost in the confusion on the Boulevards of Montgomery. Quite a lack of respect for a state route that begins at the Florida state line and does not end until northeast of Anniston."

The highway is co-routed with U.S. Highways 82 and 80 around the Montgomery city center, then diverges southwest of the city. The route proceeds through Oak Hill and Beatrice to Monroeville in Monroe County, and is co-routed with SR-47 for part of this section. The route then runs continued southwest through Frisco City and Atmore to the Florida state border, where the road becomes Florida SR-97. The route is paved throughout and often multi-lane. Counties traversed by the route include Calhoun, Talladega, Coosa, Elmore, Montgomery, Lowndes, Wilcox, Monroe and Escambia.

Cities along the route

From north to south, SR-21 passes through the following cities and towns:

Major intersections

SR-21 intersects the following Interstate highways, U.S. highways, and major state routes in Alabama:

• State Route 9 at Piedmont
• State Route 204 at Jacksonville
• U.S. Highway 431 at Anniston. These routes overlap until they split in Oxford
• U.S. Highway 78 at Oxford
• Interstate 20 at Oxford
• State Route 77 at Talladega. The two routes share a wrong-way concurrency through the city, as southbound SR-21 is co-routed with northbound SR-77
• U.S. Highway 280 at Sylacauga
• U.S. Highway 231 at Sylacauga. The two routes overlap until they split in Montgomery at the junction with U.S. Highway 82
• The southern terminus of State Route 9 as a signed route at Wetumpka. From Montgomery to the Florida state line, SR-9 is the unsigned partner route assigned to U.S. Highway 331. SR-9 is co-routed with SR-21 until they junction US-331
• U.S. Highway 80 at Montgomery. US-80 and SR-21 are co-routed until they intersect with Interstate 65 on the southwest side of Montgomery
• U.S. Highway 82 at Montgomery. US-82 joins the overlap with US-80 and SR-21, and separates from SR-21 at the intersection with I-65
• Interstate 65
• U.S. Highway 31 at Montgomery. The two routes briefly overlap on the southwest side of Montgomery
• U.S. Highway 84 at Monroeville
• Interstate 65 north of Atmore
• U.S. Highway 31 at Atmore

References

• Rand McNally: The Road Atlas 2002, Rand McNally and Company 2001 ISBN 0-528-84446-6

External links

• Southeastroads.com web page on SR-21 with photos
• Alabama Department of Transportation county road maps for Calhoun, Talladega, Coosa, Elmore, Montgomery, Lowndes, Wilcox, Monroe and Escambia (Adobe Acrobat reader required for maps; enlargement of maps necessary for legibility)