State Route 119 is a state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 that extends 45 miles (72.4 km) northeastward from Montevallo

Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with around 3000 students. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city of Montevallo is 4,825....

 to Leeds

Leeds, Alabama

Leeds is a tri-county municipality located in Jefferson, St. Clair, and Shelby Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a suburb of Birmingham. As of the 2009 population estimate, the population of the city is about 11,474.-History:...

. Although there are shorter and faster routes connecting Montevallo and Leeds, SR-119 is a heavily traveled local route that connects several suburbs and subdivisions in the suburbs of Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...

. The southern terminus of SR-119 is at the junction with State Route 25

State Route 25 (Alabama)

State Route 25 is a long and relatively rural State highway in the State of Alabama. From US-78 in Leeds northeast to its terminus at the State of Georgia line, SR-25 is the unsigned partner route of U.S. Highway 411...

 in Montevallo, and the northern terminus of the route is at a junction with U.S. Highway 78 in Leeds.

Route description

State Route 119 begins as a two-lane route, passing through Montevallo, the home of the University of Montevallo

University of Montevallo

The University of Montevallo is a four-year public university located in Montevallo, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1896, it is Alabama's only public liberal arts college and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Programs are offered through the Michael E...

. Going northward, SR-119 travels through Alabaster

Alabaster, Alabama

Alabaster is a city and southern suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 22,619. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 27,517. At the 2010 census the population was 30,352. Alabaster is still a growing...

, where it follows U.S. Highway 31 to Pelham

Pelham, Alabama

Pelham is a city and suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 14,369, but has grown to 21,352 recorded by the 2010 census. It was named for famed Confederate American Civil War officer John Pelham...

, where it branches off into its own route once again in the Oak Mountain State Park

Oak Mountain State Park

Oak Mountain State Park is Alabama's largest state park at . It is located in Pelham, Alabama and is convenient to Birmingham, Alabama's largest city....

 area, then to the eastern area of Hoover

Hoover, Alabama

Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...

, and then crosses U.S. Highway 280 before reaching its northern terminus at the junction with US-78 in Leeds.

History

Until the 1980s much of the route of SR-119 passed through rural areas of Shelby County

Shelby County, Alabama

Shelby County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama and a part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. It is named in honor of Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky. The county seat of Shelby County is Columbiana. As of 2010 U.S. Census the population was 195,085. Shelby...

. Suburban growth has led to commercial and residential growth adjoining the route. In 2005, a four-mile (6 km) section of SR-119 south of U.S. Highway 31 in Alabaster was widened to four lanes.

Major intersections