The Huntsville–Decatur, AL Combined Statistical Area is the most populated sub-region of North Alabama, and is the second fastest growing region in the State of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, with 659,486 living within the CSA. It is also currently the 57th largest CSA in the country. The CSA is situated along 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 name ...

, and is made up of two separate metropolitan areas ( Decatur and

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

) that are usually referred to as one. The Decatur MSA lies south of the Tennessee River and the Huntsville MSA lies north of it. Significant cities included in the CSA include

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, Decatur, Hartselle,

, and

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, as well as Lawrence,

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

, and

Morgan Morgan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Morgan (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Morgan le Fay, a powerful witch in Arthurian legend * Morgan (surname), a surname of Welsh origin * Morgan (singer ...

counties. Huntsville is the largest city in the area with a population of 215,006 people, and a metro population of 502,728. Decatur is the second largest city with a population of 57,938 people, and a metro population of 156,758.

Counties

* Lawrence *

Metropolitan areas included

* Decatur Metropolitan Area * Huntsville Metropolitan Area

Cities

Core cities

* Decatur

Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants

Cities with 10,000–25,000 inhabitants

* Hartselle

Cities with 5,000–9,999 inhabitants

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...

* Meridianville *

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As t ...

* Moores Mill

Cities, and towns with less than 4,999 inhabitants

Education

K–12 education

School systems by county: Madison * Huntsville City Schools
Madison County Schools

Madison City Schools
Limestone
Athens City Schools

Limestone County Schools
Morgan * Decatur City Schools
Hartselle City Schools

Morgan County Schools
Lawrence
Lawrence County Schools

Institutions of higher education

Calhoun Community College Calhoun Community College is a public community college in Tanner, Alabama. It is the 2nd largest of the 24 two-year institutions that make up the Alabama Community College System. History The college was founded in 1946 and named after John ...

System ** Calhoun Decatur Campus ** Calhoun Redstone Arsenal Campus ** Calhoun Huntsville/Cummings Research Park Campus *

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises nine colleges: arts, humanities & social scienc ...

Alabama A&M University Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marsh ...

* Oakwood University * Huntsville Regional Medical Campus of the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

School of Medicine; *

Athens State University Athens State University is a public upper-division university in Athens, Alabama. Its academics are housed in three colleges: Education, Arts and Sciences, and Business. History Athens State University is Alabama's oldest educational institutio ...

; *

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part ...

's two site
Huntsville
*

Faulkner University Faulkner University is a private Christian university in Montgomery, Alabama. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. History The university was founded in 1942 by Dr. Rex Turner, Dr. Leonard Johnson and Joe Greer as Montgomery Bible S ...

; * Columbia College; *

Virginia College Virginia College was a private for-profit college located primarily in the southeastern United States. It offered classes, certificates, diplomas, and degrees related to specific professions such as health sciences, information technology, busines ...

br>Huntsville
*

Florida Institute of Technology The Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. App ...

, and * Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Geography

The geography of the Huntsville-Decatur Metro Area ranges from the tall peaks of the southern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

, to the low valleys formed by the Tennessee River. Decatur sits on the southern shore of the Tennessee River, while Huntsville lies about 10 miles from the Tennessee River, and sits at the base of Monte Sano Mountain. *

Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North Car ...

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge The Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is a 35,000 acre (142 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located along the Tennessee River near Decatur, Alabama. Named after Major General Joseph Wheeler, it was established to provide a habitat for wintering ...

* Monte Sano State Park *

Joe Wheeler State Park Joe Wheeler State Park is a public recreation area with resort features located on Wheeler Lake, an impoundment of the Tennessee River in northwest Alabama. The state park contains of land in three separate parcels and adjoins the Tennessee Va ...

Infrastructure

Roadways

The heart of the Huntsville–Decatur Metro Area (Huntsville, Decatur, and Madison) is linked together by the 22 mile strip of

Interstate 565 Interstate 565 (I-565) is a Interstate spur that connects I-65 in Decatur with U.S. Route 72 (US 72) in Huntsville in the US state of Alabama. I-565 serves the cities of Decatur, Madison, and downtown Huntsville. It also pro ...

. Interstate 565 begins at the very edge of the Decatur City Limits at a major interchange with

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gul ...

. At the interchange, Alternate US 72 and State Route 20 turn into a controlled access highway taking up the name Interstate 565 as it passes under Interstate 65 receiving traffic from the north – (

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

), and south – (

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

/ Decatur / Hartselle) on top of the nearly 40,000-51,000 vehicles per day driving from Decatur to Huntsville on the Alternate US 72 Corridor. Plans are underway to extend Interstate 565 from the Interstate 65/Alternate US 72/State Route 20 interchange to the US 31/State Route 20/Alternate US 72 interchange in Decatur's Limestone County limits. Eventually the extended

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

will cross the Tennessee River's

Wheeler Lake Wheeler Lake is located in the northern part of the state of Alabama in the United States, between Rogersville and Huntsville. Created by Wheeler Dam along the Tennessee River, it stretches from Wheeler Dam to Guntersville Dam. It is Alabama's ...

connecting with the proposed Memphis to Atlanta Highway.

Huntsville/Madison roadways

exits the northern portion of the

, Madison Boulevard (formerly State Route 20) branches off of the interstate leading into Madison. After Madison Boulevard converges with Interstate 565 nine miles down the road,

Research Park Boulevard Research Park Boulevard (State Route 255 or SR 255) runs from I-565 to Bob Wade Lane on the north and west sides of Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama. Much of the route is a limited access highway, with the entire route planned to be limited ...

, an important north/south expressway serving

Cummings Research Park Cummings Research Park, located primarily in the city of Huntsville, Alabama is the second largest research park in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. It is one of the world’s leading science and technology business parks, with ...

, MidCity (a mixed used development at the location of the former Madison Square Mall), and

Redstone Arsenal Redstone Arsenal (RSA) is a United States Army post and a census-designated place (CDP) adjacent to Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama, United States and is part of the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. The Arsenal is a garrison ...

, bypasses the northern section of Huntsville's busier Memorial Parkway. I-565 at Space and Rocket Center

Interstate 565 winds past the

US Space and Rocket Center The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is a museum operated by the government of Alabama, showcasing rockets, achievements, and artifacts of the U.S. space program. Sometimes billed as "Earth's largest space museum", astronaut O ...

. As it approaches downtown, the interstate becomes elevated. About a after the elevated portion of the interstate begins is the largest interchange in Huntsville. The

I-565 Interstate 565 (I-565) is a Interstate spur that connects I-65 in Decatur with U.S. Route 72 (US 72) in Huntsville in the US state of Alabama. I-565 serves the cities of Decatur, Madison, and downtown Huntsville. It also prov ...

/Memorial Parkway interchange carries over 150,000 vehicles a day. Memorial Parkway stretches from the Tennessee River to Normal. The Parkway feeds the 7-lane

University Drive University Drive is a major east–west thoroughfare in Huntsville, Alabama, following US Route 72 into the city from the west. The highway carries on average approximately 56,000 vehicles a day at . Route Description From the west, US 72 enter ...

, also known as

US 72 U.S. Route 72 (US 72) is an east–west United States highway that travels for from southwestern Tennessee, throughout North Mississippi, North Alabama, and southeastern Tennessee. The highway's western terminus is in Memphis, Tennessee an ...

. Also intersecting the Parkway is the 5-lane

Governors Drive Governors Drive is a major east–west thoroughfare in Huntsville, Alabama. It follows U.S. Route 431 (US-431) in east Huntsville and State Route 53 (SR-53) in west Huntsville. Governors Drive is one of the main entrance points to the city from ...

(

US 431 U.S. Route 431 (US 431) is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently travels for approximately from US 231/Alabama State Route 210 and US 231 Business (US 231 Bus.) and US 431 Bus. in Dothan, Alabama, to Owensboro, ...

) that serves southeast Huntsville, Hampton Cove, and Huntsville Hospital.Huntsville Hospital
/ref> Interstate 565 ascends Chapman Mountain, and descends the other side towards Gurley as US 72.

Decatur roadways

Decatur's main roadways are 6th Avenue – ( U.S. Route 31), and Beltline Road – State Route 67. 6th Avenue, part of U.S. Route 31, begins as both State Route 20/ Alternate US 72, and US 31 are carved out of the "Steamboat Bill" Hudson Memorial Bridge that crosses the Tennessee River at the north central part of town. AL 20/Alt US 72 continues west towards The Shoals, after The Beltline begins in the vicinity of the

Solutia Solutia Inc. was an American manufacturer of materials and specialty chemicals including polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) interlayers for laminated glass, aftermarket window films, pro ...

plant. After the Tennessee River bridges 6th Avenue continues southward where it eventually intersects with The Beltline. After that intersection, 6th Avenue continues southward now under the name of Decatur Highway towards Hartselle and

. The Beltline was built as a western bypass to cure 6th Avenue of its congestion problem. The area around the Beltline experienced rapid growth, causing even worse traffic problems. The city's approach to this was to widen the road to six lanes, which was to be completed by 2010.

Economy

The economy of the Huntsville-Decatur Area is made up mostly of Technical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, and Defensive jobs, and companies. Huntsville is also home to the second largest research park in the country,

. The Huntsville–Decatur Metro Area is the second fastest growing region/metro area in the state of Alabama because of the ample job opportunities being instilled in the area. Both ports in the metro area are two of the busiest in the state. Huntsville International Airport is the second busiest in Alabama, and still growing, trailing Birmingham International Airport in

. The Port of Decatur, along the Tennessee River, has grown to be the largest/busiest along the Tennessee River.

Tennessee Valley Authority

The

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

(TVA) was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Con ...

plan, creating numerous

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

, locks,

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ...

, coal power plants, along with many others, to create jobs along one of the most poverty ridden regions in the United States. The TVA has turned many tired North Alabama towns into some of the most technologically advanced cities in the country. A high quality of living, has helped to fuel the Huntsville and Decatur area's explosion into the

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and ast ...

, bio-technical, and other research market areas of the U.S. The Tennessee Valley Authority has grown to be the largest public utility provider in the United States.

TVA links

TVA home page

WPA Photographs of TVA Archaeological Projects

Major employers

ADTRAN Adtran, Inc. is a leading global provider of open, disaggregated networking and communications solutions. Adtran Is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. The company is ISO 9001 and TL9000, ISO 14001, and ISO 27001 certified. History ADTRAN ...

* Athens Limestone Hospital – Athens/Limestone County *

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

– Decatur/Huntsville *

United Launch Alliance United Launch Alliance (ULA), legally United Launch Alliance, LLC, is an American spacecraft launch service provider that manufactures and operates a number of rocket vehicles that are capable of launching spacecraft into orbits around Earth, a ...

– Decatur *

System – Decatur/Huntsville *

Cinram Cinram International was a Toronto, Canada-based manufacturer of pre-recorded Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, CD-Audio, CD-ROMs, VHS tapes and audio cassettes. It was an affiliate of the Arizona-based Najafi Companies. History Cinram was established ...

– Huntsville *

* Decatur General Hospital system – Decatur * Huntsville Hospital System – Huntsville *

Intergraph Intergraph Corporation was an American software development and services company, which now forms part of Hexagon AB. It provides enterprise engineering and geospatially powered software to businesses, governments, and organizations around the ...

– Madison *

Marshall Space Flight Center The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville postal address), is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. As the largest NASA center, MSFC's firs ...

– Huntsville/Madison County * Meow Mix – Decatur *

Nucor Corporation Nucor Corporation is an American producer of steel and related products based in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is the largest steel producer in the United States, the largest "mini-mill" steelmaker (i.e. it uses electric arc furnaces to melt sc ...

– Decatur * Parkway Medical Center – Decatur *

– Huntsville/Madison County * SAIC – Huntsville *

Teledyne Brown Engineering Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an American industrial conglomerate. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky. From August 1996 to November 1999, Teledyne existed as part of the conglomerate A ...

– Huntsville *

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

– Huntsville * TVA – Decatur/Limestone County *

– Huntsville *

Vulcan Materials Company Vulcan Materials Company () is an American company based in Birmingham, Alabama. It is principally engaged in the production, distribution and sale of construction materials. Vulcan is the largest producer of construction materials, primarily gra ...

– Trinity, Huntsville

References

External links

Huntsville links

City of Huntsville

Convention and Visitors Bureau

Chamber of Commerce

The Arts Council, Inc.

The Huntsville Times

Decatur links

* Official City Website
DigitalDecatur

Official Decatur-Morgan County Website

''The Decatur Daily''

Decatur Convention & Visitor's Bureau

Decatur Morgan County Chamber of Commerce

Decatur City Schools

Decatur Sports

Alabama Jubilee – Hot Air Balloon Classic

Decatur Parks and Recreation

{{Alabama Geography of Lawrence County, Alabama Geography of Limestone County, Alabama Geography of Madison County, Alabama Geography of Morgan County, Alabama Combined statistical areas of the United States