State Route 133 (SR 133) is a mostly multi-lane
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
and is a primary artery through the
Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area
The Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area, commonly known as The Shoals, is a metropolitan statistical area in northwestern Alabama including the cities of Florence, Muscle Shoals, Tuscumbia, and Sheffield, and the counties of Lauderdale an ...
in the
northwestern part of the U.S. state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
.
Route description
SR 133 begins at an
intersection with
US 72 Alternate/
SR 20/
SR 157 just south of
Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...
, in
Colbert County
Colbert County () is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the county's population was 57,227. The county seat is Tuscumbia. The largest city is Muscle Shoals.
The county is named i ...
. Here, the roadway continues as
Colbert County Route 57 (CR 57) SR 133 and SR 157 travel
concurrently to the north along Wilson Dam Road. They cross over
Dry Creek and then enter the
city limits
City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate limi ...
of Muscle Shoals. They travel underneath a
railroad bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
that carries
railroad tracks
A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers, ...
of
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...
. After that, they briefly leave the city limits. After they re-enter the city, they intersect
Colbert CR 24 (CR 24; 6th Street). The road becomes a six-lane highway at Avalon Avenue. There is an intersection with
SR 184 (East 2nd Street) just before a crossing of
Pond Creek. They curve to the northwest and then cross the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...
on the
Singing River Bridge
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
. They enter
Lauderdale County and the city limits of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
. Almost immediately, SR 133 splits off from SR 157 at an
interchange. It travels to the northeast on Veterans Drive. It passes the Shoals Chamber of Commerce and the River Heritage Park. Just after passing Veterans Park, the highway curves to a nearly due north direction. At an intersection with the western terminus of
Lauderdale CR 32 (Huntsville Road), SR 133 curves to the north-northwest. It has an intersection with
US 43/
US 72 (
internally designated as
SR 2)/
SR 13 (Florence Boulevard). The highway curves to the northwest. It begins to travel along the northern edge of Delbert Park; on the northern edge of the park is an intersection with the western terminus of
Lauderdale CR 46 (Gresham Road). On the northwestern edge of the park, after SR 133 has curved to a due west direction, it has an intersection with both the southern terminus of
Lauderdale CR 47 (Old Jackson Highway South) and the northern terminus of Darby Drive. Just after curving to the west-southwest, it begins a concurrency with
SR 17/SR 157 (Helton Drive). Almost immediately, the three highways cross over some railroad tracks of
CSX
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
. A short distance later, SR 17 splits off to the north onto Chisolm Road, while SR 133 and SR 157 travel to the southwest. They travel along the northern edge of Cox Creek Park and then curve to the west-northwest. They cross over
Cox Creek and immediately split, with SR 157 heading to the north-northwest onto Cloverdale Road, and SR 133 continuing to the west-northwest. SR 133 leaves the city limits of Florence and curves to the southwest. It intersects
Lauderdale CR 41 (Jackson Road) and then crosses over
Cypress Creek. It curves to the west before curving back to the southwest. It then reaches its northern terminus, an intersection with SR 20 (Savannah Highway/General John Coffee Highway).
History
SR 133 was likely formed around 1927 with the completion of
Wilson Dam
Wilson Dam is a dam spanning the Tennessee River between Lauderdale County and Colbert County in the U.S. state of Alabama. Completed in 1924 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, it impounds Wilson Lake, and is one of nine Tennessee Va ...
on the Tennessee River and the opening of it to automobile traffic. At this time, the highway would have started at an old alignment of SR 20 just a few hundred yards north of its current alignment. It followed Wilson Dam Road north through Muscle Shoals to the
TVA
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a Federal government of the United States, federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, an ...
Reservation. Here, it intersected Reservation Road, which traveled east to the dam. Crossing the dam, it would have entered Florence and followed Wilson Dam Road, just east of the current Cox Creek Parkway alignment. It ended at Huntsville Road, which at the time carried US 72.
In the mid-1950s, US 72 in Florence shifted to a new alignment on Florence Boulevard, about north of Huntsville Road. It is unclear, but SR 133 may have taken Middle Road to between Huntsville Road and Florence Blvd. to reach US 72. Also around this time, SR 20 south of Muscle Shoals shifted southward to a new routing, extending the route south about .
Big changes occurred in the early 1970s with the construction of Cox Creek Parkway, a northern loop for the city of Florence. The new road placed SR 133 on a four-lane highway for the first time. From Wilson Dam, Cox Creek Parkway replaced Wilson Dam Road to carry SR 133 to Florence Boulevard. From there, the highway was extended some along the entirety of Cox Creek Parkway.
In 2002, the Singing River Bridge (Patton Island Bridge) opened, forming a new Tennessee River crossing west of Wilson Dam. As part of a long-term "Patton Island Corridor", SR 133 was shifted to this new six-lane bridge. The move necessitated construction of an overpass on Wilson Dam Road on the TVA Reservation. SR 133's routing on Reservation Road and Wilson Dam itself was removed. After crossing the new bridge into Florence, the route turned east on Veterans Drive to rejoin Cox Creek Parkway just north of Wilson Dam.
Future
As part of the ongoing Patton Island Corridor development, changes will be made to SR 133.
In Lauderdale County, the final extension of the project, from Huntsville Road to Helton Drive, opened on October 16, 2008. This included the opening of an overpass and interchange at the intersection with Florence Boulevard. (US 43/US 72/SR 13). The highway is six lanes from the Patton Island Bridge north to the connection with Helton Drive and its intersection with Hermitage Drive. The routing of SR 133 on this new portion is unclear, however; signage still points SR 133 to Veterans Drive. It is possible that SR 133 will eventually be routed on this new roadway to Helton Drive, then follow Helton Drive to Cox Creek Parkway.
In Colbert County, Wilson Dam Road continues to be upgraded to a multi-lane highway. As of late 2008, the road is six lanes from the Tennessee River south through Muscle Shoals to Avalon Avenue. Plans call for the highway to eventually be four-laned from Avalon Avenue south to SR 20; however, those plans are on hold after landowners' disputed the State of Alabama's offers to purchase their land along the proposed
right-of-way
Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another.
A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...
.
Major intersections
See also
*
*
References
{{reflist
133 133 may refer to:
*133 (number)
* AD 133
*133 BC
*133 (song)
*133 (New Jersey bus) 133 may refer to:
*133 (number)
* AD 133
*133 BC
*133 (song) 133 may refer to:
*133 (number)
*AD 133
*133 BC
*133 (song)
*133 (New Jersey bus) 133 may refer to:
* ...
Transportation in Colbert County, Alabama
Transportation in Lauderdale County, Alabama
Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area
Florence, Alabama