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Huntsville

Started by Real Life Guitar Hero, January 26, 2009, 02:35:57 PM

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freebrickproductions

Quote from: bigdave on May 10, 2018, 09:12:05 AM
Hey no worries, it should still be done a couple of years before the last stretches of Birmingham's $5 billion (yes that's $5 billion) I-422 Northern beltline (road from nowhere to nowhere through nowhere) opens.  :poke:

North Alabama really should secede and annex into Tennessee.  :bigass:

Quote from: freebrickproductions on May 10, 2018, 02:05:16 AM
Apparently, ALDOT currently doesn't have any plans to widen I-565 until 2043(!) for the portion between Exits 3 and 7, and 2046(!) for the portion between I-65 and Exit 3, based on ALDOT records (though the current Governor's office claims that those records based on 2016 funding projections, and they'll see about getting them updated and the dates for the work updated, apparently):
http://whnt.com/2018/05/09/widening-of-i-565-now-an-issue-in-alabama-governors-race-but-state-dot-records-say-help-is-a-long-way-off/
So, 3521 or somewhere around there? :pan:
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)


freebrickproductions

https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2018/05/i-565_widening_project_on_fast.html
Quote from: AL.com
I-565 widening project on 'fast track,' ALDOT says

The Alabama Department of Transportation on Thursday said that widening I-565 in Huntsville is a "high priority project for us," echoing comments Gov. Kay Ivey made Wednesday.

Planning documents on the ALDOT website indicating that the I-565 project won't see new construction until 2043 are "outdated," spokesman Tony Harris said in an interview with AL.com. He also said work on the highway is "fast tracking."

"We have consultants actively engaged, working on that project right now," Harris said.

Harris, however, said he could not put an estimated date on when construction might begin on what's been described as a $100 million project.

The perspective from ALDOT came a day after the issue of widening I-565 became a political flashpoint at a ribbon cutting for GE Aviation in Huntsville.

At the end of his brief remarks at the ribbon cutting, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle - challenging Ivey for the Republican gubernatorial nomination on June 5 - called out to state Sen. Arthur Orr seated in the audience about the need to expand I-565.

Orr, whose district includes the critical area of I-565 that officials agree needs widening, is also a member of the state General Fund committee and considered one of the most influential lawmakers in Montgomery.

After Battle concluded his speech, Ivey returned to the podium unprompted to reiterate her statement made during a speech in Huntsville last month that the interstate spur from I-65 into Huntsville is a "high priority" for her.

According to Harris, I-565 is getting attention.

"I know that work is now physically underway and is the first step to having plans that we can begin building from," he said.

But projects such as widening the federal highway are tedious exercises, Harris said. While it's basically stipulated that I-565 needs additional lanes to accommodate what's already a traffic bottleneck before the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA facility brings about 10,000 direct and indirect jobs to the area, there is more to be done than simply adding lanes, Harris said.

While I-565 expands to five lanes of traffic both east and westbound as it approaches downtown Huntsville, the highway shrinks to two lanes in each direction between Huntsville International Airport and I-65. That stretch of roadway connects a handful of manufacturing facilities such as Mazda Toyota, Polaris, GE Aviation and BOCAR with the rest of the automotive world.

He pointed to the I-565 interchange on I-65 as needing study to assess how it can handle additional lanes of traffic. There are also environmental issues in the I-565 area that will need attention as well, Harris said.

"We've got to identify to what extent improvement s are needed where I-565 connects to I-65," he said. "And what impact additional lanes will have on that entire corridor in terms of other improvements that might be needed at other interchanges. And there is at least some of that area where some detailed environmental studies will be required.

"That work is all fast tracking, ramping up and we will prosecute that work as fast as the department can."

Harris said ALDOT is aware of the growing industry presence on the I-565 corridor and the need for expansion.

"That area is seeing tremendous growth and the state recognizes the need to respond to that," he said.

Sounds like we might be getting some good news...
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

freebrickproductions

Well, the current Memorial Parkway widening project looks to be nearing completion. Many of the overhead BGS signs have gone up, and I believe they're putting striping on the mainlines as well.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

cjk374

Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 12, 2018, 01:40:32 PM
Well, the current Memorial Parkway widening project looks to be nearing completion. Many of the overhead BGS signs have gone up, and I believe they're putting striping on the mainlines as well.

Will that be as far south as the freeway will go or are there plans for another phase to start soon?
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

freebrickproductions

Quote from: cjk374 on July 14, 2018, 11:01:08 AM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 12, 2018, 01:40:32 PM
Well, the current Memorial Parkway widening project looks to be nearing completion. Many of the overhead BGS signs have gone up, and I believe they're putting striping on the mainlines as well.

Will that be as far south as the freeway will go or are there plans for another phase to start soon?
I think the city plans to start preliminary work on extending it further south once the current project is complete.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

formulanone

#230
I noticed today that County Line/Railroad Bed Road and US 72 is being prepped for improvements, which includes more turning lanes and fixing about 257 potholes.

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/roadworkprojects/county-line-road-us72-west-intersection/


codyg1985

Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 14, 2018, 03:24:36 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on July 14, 2018, 11:01:08 AM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 12, 2018, 01:40:32 PM
Well, the current Memorial Parkway widening project looks to be nearing completion. Many of the overhead BGS signs have gone up, and I believe they're putting striping on the mainlines as well.

Will that be as far south as the freeway will go or are there plans for another phase to start soon?
I think the city plans to start preliminary work on extending it further south once the current project is complete.

The project coming up after the overpasses is a large access-management project, which presumably will make the parkway south of Weatherly more like US 280 in the Birmingham area.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

freebrickproductions

Finally!
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2018/07/memorial_parkway_construction_2.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=alcomhuntsville_sf&utm_medium=social
Quote from: AL.com
Memorial Parkway construction in Huntsville completed ... almost

OK, south Huntsville, your long driving nightmare is almost over.

The Alabama Department of Transportation said Wednesday that a ribbon cutting for the two new Memorial Parkway overpasses will take place next week.

That doesn't necessarily signify the $53.9 million project will be complete by the July 31 ceremony. But as ALDOT spokesman Seth Burkett described it, "it certainly signifies that the project is nearing completion."

The work began in 2015 to build overpasses at Byrd Spring Road and Lily Flagg Road as well as reconstruct the Martin Road overpass to improve traffic flow in south Huntsville.

The Martin Road project had a late 2017 target date for completion and the overpasses in the summer of 2019. Both projects were completed early, which will mean about $2.5 million in bonuses for contractors Reed Construction and Miller & Miller.

Gov. Kay Ivey is scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting as well as Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and other state and local officials, according to ALDOT.

Completion of the project has been evident for several weeks as construction has dialed down on the overpasses, clean-up work has been taking place and paving is currently underway.

The completed overpasses will provide traffic light-free travel on the parkway from south of Mastin Lake Road in north Huntsville to south of Weatherly Drive in south Huntsville.

An overpass at Mastin Lake Road is next on the $250 million project list funded evenly by ALDOT and the city of Huntsville.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

freebrickproductions

When a local road project gets stalled out for an extremely long period of time, despite the next phase practically being ready to begin, you can't expect the locals not to have any fun!
(P.S. Read the reviews, lol.)
https://www.facebook.com/GETZEIRDTDONE/
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

cjk374

Quote from: freebrickproductions on October 01, 2018, 01:18:57 AM
When a local road project gets stalled out for an extremely long period of time, despite the next phase practically being ready to begin, you can't expect the locals not to have any fun!
(P.S. Read the reviews, lol.)
https://www.facebook.com/GETZEIRDTDONE/

I drove that road once...accidentally. I noticed the new "bike trail" beside it & wondered what the deal was with that.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

codyg1985

#235
It looks like I-565 between I-65 and County Line Rd will be widened to six lanes by making use of the shoulders (and probably making the lanes 11' lanes instead of 12' lanes).

I imagine FHWA won't buy into it unless ALDOT later comes in and does a full rebuild with appropriate shoulders and lane widths.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

wriddle082

Quote from: codyg1985 on April 17, 2019, 04:39:48 PM
It looks like I-565 between I-65 and County Line Rd will be widened to six lanes by making use of the shoulders (and probably making the lanes 11' lanes instead of 12' lanes).

I imagine FHWA won't buy into it unless ALDOT later comes in and does a full rebuild with appropriate shoulders and lane widths.

I-24 in Nashville b/w Exit 57 (Haywood Lane) and Exit 59 (Bell Road) was widened from 6 to 8 lanes by resurfacing/restriping from 12' to 11' lanes and going into the already wide right shoulder.  This was done to prevent a potential bottleneck at Bell Road after widening 24 from 4 to 8 lanes all the way to Exit 66 at Smyrna.  TDOT promised they would fix this in the coming years, though they did do a proper widening from 6 to 8 lanes from Haywood to I-440 in the early 00's.

That was 1996.  23 years ago!

Georgia

GSV car was staying at my hotel in town so new images coming soon

capt.ron

Quote from: codyg1985 on April 17, 2019, 04:39:48 PM
It looks like I-565 between I-65 and County Line Rd will be widened to six lanes by making use of the shoulders (and probably making the lanes 11' lanes instead of 12' lanes).

I imagine FHWA won't buy into it unless ALDOT later comes in and does a full rebuild with appropriate shoulders and lane widths.
I hope so. While I'm in favor of the section of I-565 in question to be widened, they need to just bite the bullet and do it right.

codyg1985

Bumping this topic...

I-565 expansion announced, Highway 72 widening project gets new life

No timeline has been set on when these projects will be funded and when construction will start. The US 72 widening between Providence Main Street and County Line Road has been delayed due to rising cost of ROW acquisition and other factors.

Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

Georgia

i think Madison can add another few shopping centers on that stretch to make the ROW costs even more; also, more fast casual restaurants. 

The Ghostbuster


codyg1985

Quote from: The Ghostbuster on May 18, 2022, 08:29:30 PM
Here is another story pertaining to the US 72 widening between Providence Main Street and County Line Road: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/u-s-highway-72-to-face-another-expansion/ar-AAXrsbW?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3c5cce9739654d62bcb29ef247de1ee7.

Another article says that this will be divided into three to four phases instead of just one long project to upgrade the entire corridor. At this rate, it'll never get finished.  :banghead:

https://www.waff.com/2022/05/18/expansion-university-blvd-us-72-expected-start-next-fiscal-year/
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

formulanone

#243
Quote from: codyg1985 on May 19, 2022, 08:36:45 AM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on May 18, 2022, 08:29:30 PM
Here is another story pertaining to the US 72 widening between Providence Main Street and County Line Road: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/u-s-highway-72-to-face-another-expansion/ar-AAXrsbW?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3c5cce9739654d62bcb29ef247de1ee7.

Another article says that this will be divided into three to four phases instead of just one long project to upgrade the entire corridor. At this rate, it'll never get finished.  :banghead:

https://www.waff.com/2022/05/18/expansion-university-blvd-us-72-expected-start-next-fiscal-year/

Using the Old Highway 20 project as a measurement, I think it would take at least 3-4 years to widen US 72 with necessary access improvements.

So maybe breaking it all up isn't so bad, but then I could see the timeline taking 5+ years... :-/

freebrickproductions

A bit of a bump. The plans for the widening of I-565 from Exit 7 to Exit 9 have been released:
https://alletting.dot.state.al.us/PLANPROP/20240531_Call_020_Plans.pdf
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

freebrickproductions

ALDOT has announced that widening work on I-565 between Exits 7 and 9 will start this Sunday, September 22nd, and will take about two years to complete:
https://whnt.com/news/madison/i-565-widening-project-starts-next-week-aldot-announces/
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

freebrickproductions

Apologies for being over a month late on sharing this, but apparently the state has agreed to fund the initial engineering work on replacing the I-565/Memorial Parkway (US 231/US 431) interchange:
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2024/09/huntsville-mayor-says-alabama-will-start-funding-key-road-project.html

According to the article, the interchange was originally designed to handle 45,000 vehicles a day, but apparently currently sees over 110,000. I know the US 231 northbound -> I-565 westbound and I-565 eastbound -> US 231 southbound ramps tend to also get quite backed-up during rush hour, the last few times I've been heading north on the Parkway during the morning rush the former movement has been backed-up past Clinton Avenue on the Parkway, sometimes all the way back to Governors Drive.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

codyg1985

Quote from: freebrickproductions on October 29, 2024, 09:55:18 AMApologies for being over a month late on sharing this, but apparently the state has agreed to fund the initial engineering work on replacing the I-565/Memorial Parkway (US 231/US 431) interchange:
https://www.al.com/news/huntsville/2024/09/huntsville-mayor-says-alabama-will-start-funding-key-road-project.html

According to the article, the interchange was originally designed to handle 45,000 vehicles a day, but apparently currently sees over 110,000. I know the US 231 northbound -> I-565 westbound and I-565 eastbound -> US 231 southbound ramps tend to also get quite backed-up during rush hour, the last few times I've been heading north on the Parkway during the morning rush the former movement has been backed-up past Clinton Avenue on the Parkway, sometimes all the way back to Governors Drive.

With work starting around 2040 at the rate ALDOT goes......

I could see a two-lane flyover being built from US 231/431 north to I-565 westbound, and maybe a two-lane ramp that doesn't have as sharp of a curve on it from I-565 eastbound to US 231/431 southbound. The issue with the latter is what to do with the ramp once it ties back in with US 231/431. I imagine a braided ramp situation would be set up for both sets of new ramps along US 231/431 between Governors and I-565.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States



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