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[formulanone]

While looking for SR 100 shields in Street View though Andalusia, I found some AL 15 shields; normally it's a hidden route number for US 29. This most certainly the old routing of US 29 through Andalusia.

Posted at Sanford Road (AL 100) on Three Notch Road
Posted on east-facing AL 55 at Stanley Avenue
Posted on southbound AL 55 (Stanley Road) as a concurrency (?)
Stanley Road at Three Notch, with "To US 29" posted alongside, and a AL 15 South shield on the other side of the road.
AL 15 posted on US 29 South at US 84
AL 15's beginning AL AL 55 from US 29

Sure enough, it's on the ALDOT Covington County Milepost map. SR 100 remains unposted.

[codyg1985]

I wonder what is causing ALDOT to post more of these unsigned state routes? AL 4 in Birmingham, and AL 15 in Andalusia.

[Voyager75]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/woyspBvyey9o3aTU8?g_st=ic

Why is Baldwin CR-27 still posted with AL-181 at the south terminus with US-98? Was this a “let it stay until the new number becomes standard” and they forgot to take it down? I know CR-27 still exists north of US-31 but is it still secret co-signed with AL-181?

On a related note, AL-181 got new pavement with slightly wider lanes from the future end of the 4 lane section south of AL-104 down to at least CR-44 so I guess the expansion of AL-181 will cease for the foreseeable future. The current 4 lane project is classic ALDOT taking forever to complete. I think the new Publix at AL-104 is long finished but you can’t get to into it along AL-181 due to construction so it still hasn’t opened.

[asdfjkll]

Looks like a 1.5 mile section of the new US-98 opened to traffic a few days ago between Newburn Road and Lott Road as per this tweet from the ALDOT Southwest Region Twitter: https://twitter.com/ALDOT_SW_Region/status/1606074630241820673 . As for the rest of the 2-lane new US-98 it should open by early 2024: All remaining projects not yet completed have been let and are under construction.

[Voyager75]

Traveling from Orlando to Birmingham today, I noticed these signs at the US-280/US-231/AL-21 interchange in Sylacauga. My pic today didn’t come out good so street view it is

https://maps.app.goo.gl/nGwNBUEPBvPP9QLj7?g_st=ic

I assume the plastered dual shields were from a contractor error as the sign originally just had AL-21 on it. US-231 has always headed south to Montgomery from US-280 at this point correct?

[froggie]

I assume the plastered dual shields were from a contractor error as the sign originally just had AL-21 on it. US-231 has always headed south to Montgomery from US-280 at this point correct?

Post-bypass, yes (which appears to have been completed in the late 1970s per ALDOT maps).  Though it's worth noting that US 231 did not exist north of Montgomery until ca. 1952, and US 280 wasn't created until the following year.  Prior to both, there was a US 241 that existed along a Dothan-Phenix City-Sylacauga-Anniston-Gadsden-Guntersville-Huntsville-north into TN routing.

[Voyager75]

I assume the plastered dual shields were from a contractor error as the sign originally just had AL-21 on it. US-231 has always headed south to Montgomery from US-280 at this point correct?

Post-bypass, yes (which appears to have been completed in the late 1970s per ALDOT maps).  Though it's worth noting that US 231 did not exist north of Montgomery until ca. 1952, and US 280 wasn't created until the following year.  Prior to both, there was a US 241 that existed along a Dothan-Phenix City-Sylacauga-Anniston-Gadsden-Guntersville-Huntsville-north into TN routing.

Good deal, thanks.

Last note from my traveling, these signs at Exit 100 on I-20/59 have been changed from the old original Abernant/Bucksville which are both ghost communities for all accounts to simply Lake View which was incorporated 10-15 years ago.

Original:missing exit tab
https://maps.app.goo.gl/4JpoTAZbQPCEP5X7A?g_st=ic

New:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/rkhmUpAYDajjXGm77?g_st=ic

Still no mention of AL-216 West beginning here as there would have been room for it. AL-216 is one of the official alternate routes for Alabama home football games and a temporary sign is put up on Saturday’s.

New Clearview signage has been put up at Exit 104 and Exit 106/I-459 as well. The ones they replaced were beyond faded so I guess they are a improvement technically.
 
These had some weird font for the numbers. They were put up when the freeway was expanded to 3 lanes 15 years ago and replaced the original signs that were installed when I-459 was completed.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/GMp8eKL286Fr8YSZ7?g_st=ic

New:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/tmbVkz6MBFiFrtWg9?g_st=ic

[formulanone]

Noticed a lot of BGS re-signing along I-65, south of Alabaster to Clanton this weekend.

It's Clearview but it looks half decent (shields were the correct font, spacing wasn't wacky).

[roadman65]

https://www.al.com/news/2023/01/iconic-rocket-at-alabama-rest-stop-to-be-taken-down-nasa-says.html

[asdfjkll]

https://alletting.dot.state.al.us/WEBPROPS/2023/20230224/NTC_February_24_2023_all.html Two bottleneck fixes on this month's letting:
Call #1 Lauderdale county BUILD grant job will add one lane in each direction to US-72/43 on the outside and add a shared use path in the project limits. Currently US-72/43 is 6-lanes from SR-133 to Bailey Springs Road and from Sky Park Road to the US-43 split off from US-72, but is only 4 lanes between those two 6-lane sections. The BUILD grant covers the aformentioned 4-lane section. Unlike the Ross Clark or McFarland projects there does not seem to be any access management done at all, not even J-turns.

Call #33 in Autauga County is the second half of the US-82 duplication to dual carriageway between SR-14 and US-31. Streetview imagery from December 2022 shows the new westbound carriageway ready to traffic to be moved onto it in a temporary 2-lane configuration. This contract shifts traffic onto the new westbound carriageway so the old bridges over Autauga Creek and Autauga Northern Railroad can be demolished and rebuilt to carry eastbound traffic. The old 2-lane road will get shoulder widening and left/right turn lanes and be converted into the new eastbound carriageway. Now I'm not sure why the initial 2-lane sections between Gin Shop Hill Road and US-31 were not duplicated when the southeast section of the Prattville bypass was built in the 90's but at least its getting done now (Gin Shop Hill Road to SR-14 was duplicated around 2013/2014 ish).

Welcome Center replacement on I-65 (the one that made headlines with the upcoming removal of the rocket there) is call #19 on this letting.

Everything else is just routine maintenance across the state, a turn lane here and there, and adding open graded friction course to more of I-459 near Trussville and I-65 near Clanton.

[asdfjkll]

The decades old bumpy concrete on I-65 between US-31 and University Boulevard is finally being addressed by ALDOT: https://www.wvtm13.com/article/wvtm-13-investigates-busy-section-interstate-65-receiving-facelift/43252943 , basically what they are doing is smoothing out the bumps with diamond grinding until they will place an open graded friction course (OGFC) over the smoothed out surface like most of the other concrete interstates in Birmingham. In the medium term all of the concrete in that area will be completely replaced (which is what's going to happen on I-59 between I-459 and Trussville once a contract's finally awarded for that project)

[codyg1985]

The decades old bumpy concrete on I-65 between US-31 and University Boulevard is finally being addressed by ALDOT: https://www.wvtm13.com/article/wvtm-13-investigates-busy-section-interstate-65-receiving-facelift/43252943 , basically what they are doing is smoothing out the bumps with diamond grinding until they will place an open graded friction course (OGFC) over the smoothed out surface like most of the other concrete interstates in Birmingham. In the medium term all of the concrete in that area will be completely replaced (which is what's going to happen on I-59 between I-459 and Trussville once a contract's finally awarded for that project)

They need to add a lane in each direction through there on that stretch, but that would be very costly.

Both of those project will be a mess due to lane closures that would be required to do the work.

[asdfjkll]

https://alletting.dot.state.al.us/WEBPROPS/2023/20230407/NTC_April_07_2023.html A small letting coming up next month, the flagship project in this letting is a new Memorial Parkway overpass over Mastin Lake Road and related access managment improvements north of there to Winchester Road. The project plan set should be up within a couple days. The US-82 duplication part 2 in Prattville was withdrawn from the previous letting and moved to this letting. Most of the other projects are a mix of bridge replacements, resurfacing, and intersection modifications, with a few of them rebids after they were either withdrawn or had all bids rejected from previous lettings.

[barcncpt44]

The Gadsden mayor has been talking with ALDOT to reroute US 411 away from the Coosa River for riverfront development.  https://abc3340.com/news/local/gadsden-eyes-western-riverfront-development-could-reroute-highway-411-etowah-county-coosa-river-mayor-craig-ford#

[74/171FAN]

That section of US 411 kept Gadsden from being boring to me…

[asdfjkll]

Project Updates:
New Google aerial imagery shows the completed and opened SR-158 extension from Schillinger Road to Lott Road, it also shows the construction progress around Christmas 2022 on the Glenwood Road bridge and the base+pave to the state line, although the new imagery does not go all the way to the state line. Most of the new SR-158 looks like its been paved except where the Glenwood Road overpass is being built and the tie-in at the state line, where multiple traffic diversions/shifts would be required to completely construct the tie-in to the existing US-98 dual carriageways at the state line. Hopefully by Christmas time this year Mobile will get an early Christmas present in the form of the SR-158 extension opened all the way to the state line.

Aerial imagery in Cullman that was updated shows the SR-157 duplication project coming close to an end, with westbound and eastbound traffic on their own carriageways, 1 lane open each direction. Given the imagery was done in November 2022, the 4-lanes are probably open at this point.

Northeast of Gadsden, the US-411 realignment to complete the 4-lanes to Centre is coming along pretty well. Sentinel hub imagery shows almost all the earthwork completed and the paving around 75-80% complete. I'm expecting US-411 to be moved onto this new alignment by the end of the year, and the old road will become a county/local road, as what happened with the US-411 relocation/dual carriageway project to the south completed a few years ago.

West AL Highway's Linden Bypass south section seems to be well underway (as per Sentinel Hub imagery from March 2023), clearing of the ROW is clearly visible in multiple locations (and I believe it is also beginning in the northern half as well). A bridge culvert being built over Sycamore Creek (near where the bypass meets up with US-43 at the south end) is also clearly visible in that satellite imagery. As for the rest of the project being done in design-build delivery, I am not sure when those parts will break ground, but ROW is being acquired across the entire corridor.

[codyg1985]

West AL Highway's Linden Bypass south section seems to be well underway (as per Sentinel Hub imagery from March 2023), clearing of the ROW is clearly visible in multiple locations (and I believe it is also beginning in the northern half as well). A bridge culvert being built over Sycamore Creek (near where the bypass meets up with US-43 at the south end) is also clearly visible in that satellite imagery. As for the rest of the project being done in design-build delivery, I am not sure when those parts will break ground, but ROW is being acquired across the entire corridor.

I wonder where the design-build portion of the West Alabama Highway is. Looks like the state's design-build efforts are tied up in the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway projects.

[froggie]

West AL Highway's Linden Bypass south section seems to be well underway (as per Sentinel Hub imagery from March 2023), clearing of the ROW is clearly visible in multiple locations (and I believe it is also beginning in the northern half as well). A bridge culvert being built over Sycamore Creek (near where the bypass meets up with US-43 at the south end) is also clearly visible in that satellite imagery. As for the rest of the project being done in design-build delivery, I am not sure when those parts will break ground, but ROW is being acquired across the entire corridor.

I wonder where the design-build portion of the West Alabama Highway is. Looks like the state's design-build efforts are tied up in the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway projects.

ALDOT is intending Design-Build for the entirety of the corridor from Thomasville to Moundville.

[Stephane Dumas]

Seems there's a new interchange built on ALT US-72 just west of the ALT US-72/I-65/I-565 interchange. https://goo.gl/maps/Ly3495nUSiJ29xfY6

[froggie]

Seems there's a new interchange built on ALT US-72 just west of the ALT US-72/I-65/I-565 interchange. https://goo.gl/maps/Ly3495nUSiJ29xfY6

Looking at recent GMSV, the geometry suggests that it's moreso going to be an overpass with a couple of RIRO's on each side...not bona-fide interchange ramps.

[codyg1985]

Seems there's a new interchange built on ALT US-72 just west of the ALT US-72/I-65/I-565 interchange. https://goo.gl/maps/Ly3495nUSiJ29xfY6

Looking at recent GMSV, the geometry suggests that it's moreso going to be an overpass with a couple of RIRO's on each side...not bona-fide interchange ramps.

That overpass is being built to open up land at the northwest and southwest sides of the I-65/565 interchange for development.

[The Ghostbuster]

It looks like the new US 72 Alternate interchange will be a jug-handle interchange, likely due to its proximity to the Interstate 65/565 interchange.

[asdfjkll]

It looks like the new US 72 Alternate interchange will be a jug-handle interchange, likely due to its proximity to the Interstate 65/565 interchange.

Yep, if the intent was to extend 565 west to US-31 they would've put the interchange more so in the middle between US-31 and I-65 so that it would be at interstate standard spacing for exits. They would've also had to close all median openings and direct property access between 31 and 65 and build the 2-way frontage roads parallel to the roadway.

In other news: April 28th letting list is posted https://alletting.dot.state.al.us/WEBPROPS/2023/20230428/NTC_April_28_2023.html , the typical ATRIP2's and resurfacings/maintenance to include the short-term fix for the I-65 concrete south of Birmingham. Looking at the plan set posted for the I-65 concrete rehab, looks like there will be two layers of asphalt (a wearing surface then open graded friction course above it) instead of just slapping OGFC on top of existing concrete pavement. Speaking of, reflective cracks already started appearing in the OGFC placed 2 years ago to the north of this project.

[bdmoss88]

I agree with the post above, and having visited that Buc-ee's multiple times, it is gloriously welcome on that stretch of 10. 

Cant wait for the next few Buc-ee's to open up in Leeds AL, Calhoun, GA and WR, GA. 

A Buc-ees is also coming to I-65 at Exit 347 in Athens.

The Auburn Buc-ees opened yesterday, I-85 exit 50.

[bdmoss88]

I went through Prattville this weekend and westbound traffic has been moved to one lane of the new section of the 4-laning of US82. Eastbound was also one lane. I assume they are getting it ready to shift the one lane of eastbound traffic to the new lanes in order to rebuild/resurface the eastbound side?