For the next 135 miles (217 km), it proceeds northeasterly towards Birmingham, passing through the rural areas of the Black Belt; much of this segment is a two-lane road.

[3] In northern Bibb County, SR 5 joins US 11, I-20, and I-59, and these continue their route to the northeast.

[9][10] Maintenance by the Alabama Highway Department was extended southeast from Natural Bridge to SR 5 near Jasper by 1957.

In that year, in the renumbering of the state highways of Alabama, substantial changes were made to the route of SR 5.

Both portions of it that had been concurrencies with US 43 – south of Thomasville and north of Phil Campbell – became SR 13, which essentially became the unsigned partner to US 43 across the state.

[citation needed] This removed almost half of the original SR 5, leaving it a reflected C-shaped route, with both ends of connecting with US 43, and its eastmost point in Birmingham.

[13] An urban legend claims that SR 5 near Lynn is haunted by the spirit of a teenage girl who was killed by a truck driver.