Alabama

[clong]

Downtown Birmingham I-20/I-59 bridges are scheduled to close on Monday, 1/21.

Red Mountain Expressway North to I-20/I-59 South ramp is scheduled to close tomorrow (Friday, 1/18) night.

More info available at 5920bridge.com.

[Charles2]

I drove on the 20/59 bridge one last time today and noticed that they were already working on dismantling the flyover from Red Mountain Expressway.  They're not messing around!

[Tomahawkin]

Knowing this shutdown was going to happen, I 65 south of 20/59 should have been widened. 65 from 20/59 to 465 is going to be hell, especially on holiday weekends...

[froggie]

$$$$$$$$ (or lack thereof....ALDOT had to scrape together as it was for the 20/59 project...no way they'd have been able to do that and widen 65 as well)

[jdb1234]

Knowing this shutdown was going to happen, I 65 south of 20/59 should have been widened. 65 from 20/59 to 465 is going to be hell, especially on holiday weekends...

I-65 between I-459 and downtown can be hell anyways, but widening I-65 over Shades Mountain won't be cheap.  I rarely go downtown these days.

On another note, I-65 widening between Exits 242 and 238 is progressing along.  Knowing my luck, they still start widening it down to Exit 234 after they are done.

[BamaZeus]

Tolls coming to Mobile
https://mynbc15.com/news/local/wallace-tunnel-to-get-new-toll-as-part-of-mobile-river-bridge-project

[roadwarrior]

Tolls coming to Mobile
https://mynbc15.com/news/local/wallace-tunnel-to-get-new-toll-as-part-of-mobile-river-bridge-project

The bridge should be what gets the tolls.  It would be the more attractive route, avoiding the design flaw issue that causes wrecks every day at the tunnel. 

To me not enough people are trying to think outside the box to solve these issues.  Tolls should only exist on new, more attractive routes but not to pay off the building of that route but future ones.  They should have already temporarily tolled previous new roads.  (ala 158 extension and Nevius rd. extension come to mind)  Maybe even shut down some random roads that would save time for people and convert them to toll.  So a temporary toll on this bridge could build another future project.

[milbfan]

I think this bad boy may be going away soon. We went through Montgomery yesterday and it looks like a new gantry is being constructed just before it.

https://goo.gl/maps/ni69KZLxoTu

went through MGM 3 weeks ago, it is gone.
new gantry and sign is just sooooo boring

Drove through this evening.  I kinda miss the old signage - it was vintage.  At least there's an Exit 0 out of the deal.

[Voyager75]

New .2 mile markers have been installed on I-459. AFAIK this is the first instance of this style of signage to be put up in the area. The southbound side has yet to be signed.






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[formulanone]

New .2 mile markers have been installed on I-459. AFAIK this is the first instance of this style of signage to be put up in the area. The southbound side has yet to be signed.






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I don't think I've seen them anywhere else in the state.

Tennessee has them at 0.2 mile intervals.

[Tom958]

A few months ago I was on a road trip, ended up crossing the Tallapoosa River on AL 50 just downstream from the dam at Lake Martin. I like dams, too, and I pulled over and walked out onto the bridge to get a few shots of the dam. What I saw in the river below was better, though: two overlapping sets of piers for abandoned bridges! https://www.google.com/maps/@32.6767784,-85.9090984,112m/data=!3m1!1e3

[codyg1985]

ALDOT has posted portable VMS signs along I-20/59 at near every rest area going northeast from MS warning of the closure of I-20/59 through downtown Birmingham. I was wondering how far upstream warnings would be posted.

[Voyager75]

ALDOT has posted portable VMS signs along I-20/59 at near every rest area going northeast from MS warning of the closure of I-20/59 through downtown Birmingham. I was wondering how far upstream warnings would be posted.

They had one up at the AL/GA state line on I-59 last week when I came home from Virginia.


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[barcncpt44]

There is one also along I-20 westbound after crossing the Georgia state line into Alabama.

[Georgia]

all the VMS on 65 from Mobile to MGM have the closure on them too.

[formulanone]

Word from our barcncpt44 on Instagram is that the alignment of SR 21 has been shifted on to SR 200 in the town of Piedmont.

This possibly makes the AL 200 designation redundant and/or removed, but I couldn't find any data on it in ALDOT's website.

[jOnstar1979]

Word from our barcncpt44 on Instagram is that the alignment of SR 21 has been shifted on to SR 200 in the town of Piedmont.

This possibly makes the AL 200 designation redundant and/or removed, but I couldn't find any data on it in ALDOT's website.

Just makes sense to remove AL 200. It has been a long time since I have been in Piedmont, but I do remember TO AL-21 signs posted at the US-278/AL 200 JCT and just south along 200. Most truck traffic coming from Jacksonville & Anniston would end up using 200 anyway instead of running the short length of 21 into town. At the same time, I would understand why keeping 21 going into town and ending at AL-9. Smart as well to keep the traffic going through the town and helping the little bit of business left. Last time I was in Piedmont... it was a very dead town. It was sad to see, cause I used to love it as a kid in the 80's, and I used to have family from there.

[rcm195]

I was on the east side of Birmingham today, traveling on the old US 78 four lane between the Pro Bass Shop Exit and coming back west bound to the Grants Mills Road intersection. I noticed some new signage had been installed which had 78 on them, but they were state of Alabama logo signs. There seemed to be too many to have been a mistake but I came all the way back into Birmingham on old four lane 78 and eventually they returned to the Federal shield design. Any ideas what's up?

[Georgia]

ALDOT has seemingly been doing some signage work in that part of B'ham.  I noticed all the button copy signs are going away on 20W inside 459. 

[barcncpt44]

Word from our barcncpt44 on Instagram is that the alignment of SR 21 has been shifted on to SR 200 in the town of Piedmont.

This possibly makes the AL 200 designation redundant and/or removed, but I couldn't find any data on it in ALDOT's website.

That is indeed the case.  I also talk about it, plus pictures including redoing the former AL-200 / AL-21 intersection at the link.  https://geekalabama.com/2019/04/11/roadscapes-wednesday-alabama-state-route-200-is-eliminated-in-piedmont/

[froggie]

Is there any sort of press release from ALDOT about this?  Would like something official in hand when I address the TM lists.

[barcncpt44]

Is there any sort of press release from ALDOT about this?  Would like something official in hand when I address the TM lists.

Nope have not seen any.  I was the only one to talk about this.  ALDOT also added a new traffic light at the US 431 / AL-204 / Peeks Hill Road intersection.  This was LONG over do!

https://twitter.com/nvyoung/status/1115367244408721410

[Great Lakes Roads]

Found an video along with some slides on the proposed improvements on I-10 east of downtown Mobile...

https://www.fox10tv.com/news/new-animation-renderings-of-proposed-mobile-river-bridge-and-bayway/article_b22a3240-710e-11e9-9181-cb0101299185.html

[barcncpt44]

Looks like ALDOT will be making changes in Talladega.  According to The Daily Home. (Paywall)

The state of Alabama will be repaving Highways 21 and 77 this summer, at the same time the city is undertaking its own paving project.

Once those two state highways are repaved, they will cease to be state highways and will be turned over to the city to maintain.

Looks like AL-275 will soon cease to exist as AL-21 will be put on there.  I am guessing ALDOT will route AL-77 along what is currently AL-21 just north of Talladega and will join the moved AL-21 at the 4-lane.

https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/motorists-should-expect-slow-going-in-talladega-this-summer-as/article_f1529318-7c30-11e9-86a0-3754fd7abad0.html

[Voyager75]

Looks like ALDOT will be making changes in Talladega.  According to The Daily Home. (Paywall)

The state of Alabama will be repaving Highways 21 and 77 this summer, at the same time the city is undertaking its own paving project.

Once those two state highways are repaved, they will cease to be state highways and will be turned over to the city to maintain.

Looks like AL-275 will soon cease to exist as AL-21 will be put on there.  I am guessing ALDOT will route AL-77 along what is currently AL-21 just north of Talladega and will join the moved AL-21 at the 4-lane.

https://www.annistonstar.com/the_daily_home/motorists-should-expect-slow-going-in-talladega-this-summer-as/article_f1529318-7c30-11e9-86a0-3754fd7abad0.html

I always wondered why ALDOT didn't move AL-21 to the new bypass to begin with. Now hopefully they'll begin the process of expanding the last 2 lane section west of town. I know there's several bridges on that section so I always assumed that's why it hasn't gone to 4 lanes. There is a stub for the expansion. They also have the last part of AL-21 to 4 lane around Munford to make it 4 lanes from Oxford to just north of Sylacauga.


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