Alabama State Route 49

State Route 49 (SR 49) is an 82.684 mi state highway in the central and eastern parts of the U.S. state of Alabama. The southern terminus of the highway is at an interchange with Interstate 85 (I-85) at Franklin in Macon County. The northern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with SR 281 east of Cheaha State Park in southern Cleburne County.

Route description
Alabama State Route 49 has its northern terminus at Alabama State Route 281, which provides access to Cheaha State Park and Oxford. This junction is at about 1200ft, 1200ft below the highest point in the state (Mount Cheaha), just a few miles southwest. This junction is in Cleburne County, which the route spends less than a mile in.

Quickly descending down the mountain into rural Clay County, the route winds its way south through foothills to  Lineville, where it junctions with Alabama State Route 9. A few miles south of Lineville is a two-mile concurrency with Alabama State Route 77.

Crossing into Tallapoosa County several miles later, the route crosses through  Goldville before reaching  New Site, the location of a mile-long concurrency with Alabama State Route 22. It then winds its way south through Jacksons' Gap and reaches  Dadeville, the location of a mile-long concurrency with  U.S. Route 280.

After weaving through rural Tallapoosa County for several more miles, the route crosses into Macon County, where it enters  Franklin. It makes a left turn onto the right-of-way of County Road 36, which carries it to its southern terminus at Interstate 85. Travelers can access Auburn,  Atlanta,  Montgomery, and  Tuskegee from this intersection.

History
When SR 49 was formed in 1940, the highway traveled only from Tallassee to Dadeville. As a result of several northward extensions, by 1969 the highway extended to an intersection with US 78 near Heflin. In 1973, the highway was extended southward to its current terminus at I-85 in Macon County. When SR 281 was formed in 1995, the northernmost section of the route was truncated.