End of US highway 331 [II]

Note: since I don't have access to a comprehensive collection of historical road atlases, much of the info on this page is based on the research of Robert Droz and Adam Froehlig. Photo credits: Larry McDonald; Alex Nitzman; Michael Summa

Today's US 331 wasn't commissioned until 1953. You can read about the endpoints of the original US 331 on this page.

The north end of US 331 is in Montgomery AL. It comes in from the south on Court Street, and ends at the intersection with South Blvd - which, at that point, serves as US 80/US 82:

Nitzman, 2000

This shot is looking north on Court, at the South Blvd intersection. Note the slot for an arrow below the US 331 sign: that's because from 1979 until 1990 - instead of "End 331" - it used to read, "North 331 (right arrow)." US 331 continued to the right here for about a half-mile, and then north again on Norman Bridge Rd. But let's start from the beginning:

When US 331 was commissioned in 1953, it came into Montgomery via Norman Bridge, not Court. Unfortunately, historic AL DoT maps aren't real clear as to route designations - US 331 could've ended at Fairview Avenue, which carried US 82/US 231 at the time. Otherwise it could've gone west for a couple blocks to end at Perry Street (US 31/80), or it even could've gone north on Perry to end at Madison (where US 31 and 80 split). South Blvd opened in 1955, and US 82/231 were rerouted onto it. So then US 331 may have ended on Norman Bridge at South Blvd. But it could've continued to go north to Perry or Madison, as it may have previously. It was 1979 when US 331 was rerouted onto Court, so its current endpoint may have been established then. But the 1987 map hints at the possibility that US 331 still may have been routed into downtown. It's not until 1991 that the current endpoint is clearly indicated.

The photo below is of another assembly posted on the approach to the intersection shown above:

Nitzman, 2000

From Montgomery, US 331 heads pretty much due south to the Gulf, through only small towns and rural areas. The south end of US 331 is at its junction with US 98, outside Santa Rosa Beach FL. Here's an interesting historical shot, showing one of Florida's colored shields:

Summa, 1978

That was heading west on US 98. The intersection and the signage has changed since then; as of 2004 that approach looked like this:

McDonald, Oct. 2004

Below we're looking the opposite direction (east on US 98):

McDonald, Oct. 2004

US 331 begins to the left; if you take that turn, you'll soon see the first northbound reassurance marker:

Nitzman, July 2006

If you turned around there, you'd be at the south end of US 331; here's what it looks like:

McDonald, Oct. 2004