I-422 northern beltline.... (Alabaster, Trussville, Leeds: to rent, college, costs)

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Why do people see this as such a terrible thing? You don't like the price? Well it costs big money to build roads anywhere. You don't like where they laid it out? Well the terrain is horrific in that area, and there are many established suburbs. You have to locate it far out, no other choice.

I don't see why anyone would be against it. I mean, it's going to compete against other projects, but I would say that it's a needed road. People say they didn't need 840 in Tennessee or 269 in Memphis but there are more and more cars on those every day.

[MinivanDriver]

Dunno. To me, it's needed to develop northern Jefferson County.

[wardamnbham]

Thing is, it's not needed. Even the most liberal traffic studies show only a slight reduction in congestion among existing interstates. At $100mm a mile, that's hard to justify. A toll is probably the only shot this project has at being completed within our lifetimes.

[steveklein]

It's mostly a combination of cost/use.

As for the "don't like the cost; it costs big money to build roads anywhere" thing... well... sort of.

But at 100 million a mile, this is several times more expensive than your average road.

Also, imo, northern (and western) JeffCo don't really need to be developed. This is not San Francisco where land is so expensive people need to be 50 miles from the city center to rent a shoebox. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of parcels that can be developed of all types within 15-20 miles of downtown.

I'm just thinking of what all could be bought with $5 billion, even if it was only used for improving roads/traffic, and I can't think of too many ways to spend $5 billion that would be less efficient. And yes, I understand that certain federal dollars can only be used for federal projects... but this still just seems like an incredibly poor return on investment.

With 5 billion, I coulda buried 20/59 through downtown, widened 65 from downtown to Alabaster, as well as 20 and 59 out to Leeds/Trussville, fixed a few 280 bottlenecks, and still have a billion or two leftover.

[harry chickpea]

The terrain is bad, but not much more than 280. I had hoped to cash in on any northern connector, but had to dump my property in the Centerpoint area. Loosely - big major road = development and increased property values.

B'ham will eventually need it, and the cost of acquiring properties now will be cheaper than in the future. Would it be wise to start now? Maybe, maybe not.

[wardamnbham]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

The terrain is bad, but not much more than 280. I had hoped to cash in on any northern connector, but had to dump my property in the Centerpoint area. Loosely - big major road = development and increased property values.

B'ham will eventually need it, and the cost of acquiring properties now will be cheaper than in the future. Would it be wise to start now? Maybe, maybe not.

Can't recall but hasn't the necessary ROW been acquired already?

[BamaDave]

I moved here right after college at age 22 and am now an almost 53-year old grandfather. I've been hearing about this northern beltline the entire time.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by wardamnbham

Can't recall but hasn't the necessary ROW been acquired already?

Some of it has, along with the environmental work.

As to your previous post, I could probably get on board with it not being needed at present. Most highways like this have at least SOME data pointing toward them, even if they are ultimately pork. But it's the future that must be considered.

I personally think the layout of this road is wrong. I think it needs to only stretch from I-22 down to I-20. But, I'm sure ALDOT had a reason for laying it out where they did.

At the end of the day though, I think a fundamental change is necessary to improve our roadway system. I don't know that adding more lanes and more roads is the answer. I think we need to rework the interchanges, that's where the congestion lies.

[wardamnbham]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Some of it has, along with the environmental work.

As to your previous post, I could probably get on board with it not being needed at present. Most highways like this have at least SOME data pointing toward them, even if they are ultimately pork. But it's the future that must be considered.

I personally think the layout of this road is wrong. I think it needs to only stretch from I-22 down to I-20. But, I'm sure ALDOT had a reason for laying it out where they did.

At the end of the day though, I think a fundamental change is necessary to improve our roadway system. I don't know that adding more lanes and more roads is the answer. I think we need to rework the interchanges, that's where the congestion lies.

Thanks. And yes, there are definitely more items that warrant priority.

[TimCity2000]

agree with steveklein... for me, it's all the other things that could've been done with that money (from a transportation standpoint) that seem more beneficial.