ALDOT Director in trouble? (Huntsville, Memphis: centers, safer, metro area)

[InlandWave]

Disagree, a Western Highway is much needed.

There’s no excuse why we shouldn’t be able to travel to other cities in the state without leaving a 4 lane highway

There’s no way from Mobile to Tuscaloosa or visa Versa without going through windy country single lane roads. Mobile has become a major transportation hub and Tuscaloosa is semi major city that deserves a direct connection to the port just like Auburn, Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville does. Not to mention there are a ton of plants between Tuscaloosa and Thomasville that would greatly benefit from a 4-lane highway.

There’s only ONE north-south route through the entire state of Alabama that’s a divided highway and y’all pickachu facing why there’s so much traffic on the SINGLE North-South route through the state?

Same logic as saying you already have 431 as a north-south freeway in Huntsville so why should 255 exist when “you can just expand 431”

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by InlandWave

Disagree, a Western Highway is much needed.

There’s no excuse why we shouldn’t be able to travel to other cities in the state without leaving a 4 lane highway

There’s no way from Mobile to Tuscaloosa or visa Versa without going through windy country single lane roads. Mobile has become a major transportation hub and Tuscaloosa is semi major city that deserves a direct connection to the port just like Auburn, Montgomery, Birmingham and Huntsville does. Not to mention there are a ton of plants between Tuscaloosa and Thomasville that would greatly benefit from a 4-lane highway.

There’s only ONE north-south route through the entire state of Alabama that’s a divided highway and y’all pickachu facing why there’s so much traffic on the SINGLE North-South route through the state?

Same logic as saying you already have 431 as a north-south freeway in Huntsville so why should 255 exist when “you can just expand 431”

No your logic is flawed because population density and traffic counts are not comparable.
I agree that 43 should be 4 lanes, but it highlights the neglect by aldot across the state on infrastructure. It should have been done 20 years ago. The truth is besides some futuristic projects that will never be completed and suck resources from current projects that are needed 20 years ago. The list of needed projects is long and now impossible to catch up. Leadership and vision is absent at aldot. We need a new director who didn’t come out of retirement to have something to do or not do.

[dijkstra]

I agree that 43 should be 4 lanes. However, Huntsville area is growing rapidly and Nashville is just exploding. Take a drive down I65 to Mobile. It is not fun with all the traffic jams. It is really bad South of Montgomery around Greenville as well as between Montgomery and Birmingham. It isn't traffic jams caused by wrecks or anything.....it is just more traffic than the available lanes can handle and it is every single day now.

[InlandWave]

I agree it’s entirely ALDOT’s fault for failing to get this done when they started expanding 43 from Mobile to Thomasville decades ago but due to ALDOT’s previous incompetence we should just stop another north-south route that may actually alleviate I-65 traffic because it opens another route from the northern part of the state to Mobile?

Saying “there’s isn’t enough traffic to warrant it” isn’t a good comment to say and impossible to determine. There are about 6 separately used and equally used routes between Mobile and Tuscaloosa, 4 that take you straight down and through various windy routes through the black belt, one that takes you all the way to Montgomery and another that takes you all the Mississippi. ALL of them require going through windy country roads (I’ve used all of those routes when I’ve traveled between Mobile and Tuscaloosa)

[AU HSV]

Can you imagine the disaster I-65 will be in 20 years?
Highway 43 needs to be done in 5 years while its still possible.

Plans are under way for a potential $200 million expansion of Interstate 65 between Alabaster and Calera, and the project could be moved up by 20 years, Shelby County officials said.

The plan is to expand I-65 from two lanes to three lanes between Exit 238 (U.S. 31) in Alabaster and Exit 231 (U.S. 31) in Calera, which covers 7.1 miles on both the northbound and southbound sides of the interstate. It also would include replacement of eight bridges and intersection improvements at Exit 234 (Shelby County 87 and the Shelby County Airport).

The project originally was planned to take place between 2045 and 2049, but Shelby County is trying to move it up on the calendar about 20 years sooner than the original date.

"We are putting up what we can do and hope ALDOT [Alabama Department of Transportation] accepts it," Shelby County Manager Chad Scroggins said. "It's not a done deal yet. The next steps are to meet with ALDOT and try to get the agreement done, and then they will get the partial design. Construction could begin as soon as 18 months."

[AU HSV]

Another aldot ineptness that has been ongoing is I-10 Bay Bridge and related roadways.

https://www.al.com/news/2023/08/caus...kes-shape.html

“I am looking for a Causeway plan,” Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan said. “How do we prepare for the influx of cars when (construction crews) are on the Bayway? You got to improve what you do have.”

He added, “I bring this up at every (MPO) meeting. This needs to be done prior to the Bayway (project commencing). We keep getting promises, but nothing is happening.”

[AU HSV]

Oh boy
Donald Trump promised to immediately get to work on making I-65 six lanes from Huntsville to Mobile if he wins the 2024 election, the former president told the Alabama Republican Party’s Summer Dinner on Friday.

“One of the first things that I will do to help the great people of Alabama is to approve a six-lane I-65 from Huntsville to Mobile,” Trump said during his keynote speech at the dinner at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery.

[Jakeweg]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

Oh boy
Donald Trump promised to immediately get to work on making I-65 six lanes from Huntsville to Mobile if he wins the 2024 election, the former president told the Alabama Republican Party’s Summer Dinner on Friday.

“One of the first things that I will do to help the great people of Alabama is to approve a six-lane I-65 from Huntsville to Mobile,” Trump said during his keynote speech at the dinner at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery.

Six lane 72 west and it's a done deal.

[RocketDawg]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

Oh boy
Donald Trump promised to immediately get to work on making I-65 six lanes from Huntsville to Mobile if he wins the 2024 election, the former president told the Alabama Republican Party’s Summer Dinner on Friday.

“One of the first things that I will do to help the great people of Alabama is to approve a six-lane I-65 from Huntsville to Mobile,” Trump said during his keynote speech at the dinner at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery.

He also hinted that the Space Command decision wasn't "final". I have a notion about how the whole thing, including the first selection process, went down but I'll hold off a while on saying anything. My "theory" isn't due to knowledge of anything other than politics.

[AU HSV]

Originally Posted by RocketDawg

He also hinted that the Space Command decision wasn't "final". I have a notion about how the whole thing, including the first selection process, went down but I'll hold off a while on saying anything. My "theory" isn't due to knowledge of anything other than politics.

If you read comments under the space command topic it’s pretty clear what the real process was. It also allowed Colorado to build out and correct their deficiencies over the last 2+ years in violation of DoD policies all the while lying and misguiding Congress. Then the generals presented the results to Biden and let him make the choice. But let’s not pollute this thread with space command corruption by our military leaders.