In addition to connecting Tuskegee and Notasulga, it serves as a route for motorists traveling on Interstate 85 (I-85) to access the two towns.

Traffic on SR 81 increases significantly when the Auburn Tigers football team is playing at Jordan–Hare Stadium.

[citation needed] In September 2004, a segment of SR 83 near the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site was dedicated Tuskegee Airmen Boulevard by the National Park Service.

[2] A project to replace the SR 81 bridge over Uphappee Creek north of Tuskegee began in November 2022.

The truck route travelled along US 29/US 80 (East Martin Luther King Highway) from the Tuskegee Town Green to General Chappie James Drive, then turned northwest along General Chappie James Drive.