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[codyg1985]

I am just thinking of how the Mobile-Baldwin county folks feel about $775M going to this project instead of the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project.

[The Ghostbuster]

How many truly know about it outside of us roadgeeks? And do they really care?

[codyg1985]

How many truly know about it outside of us roadgeeks? And do they really care?

Word hasn't made it to Jim Ziegler's anti toll Facebook group yet...

[asdfjkll]

How many truly know about it outside of us roadgeeks? And do they really care?

Word hasn't made it to Jim Ziegler's anti toll Facebook group yet...

Not sure why they dont know about it yet, they made the anti toll FB group private pretty recently for some odd reason. It would be nice though if more Rebuild Alabama money was put towards that new Mobile Bayway to help reduce the proposed tolls/tolling period.
In other news:
Google Streetview is updated to October/December 2021 on I-20/59 westbound through Tuscaloosa showing the completed 6-lanes between McFarland and Exit 77. The eastbound direction has not been updated since 2019, and satellite imagery has not been updated for the whole project since as far back as 2017 (for the east half of it). There is still some construction just west of McFarland to tie the new 6-lane section into the existing 6-lane section between I-359 and McFarland that has been 6-lanes since 359 was built. Pretty good shot of the new arch bridge over the McFarland SPUI at https://www.google.com/maps/@33.1716434,-87.5248049,3a,75y,251.97h,88.93t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYd1UPJlGKXNucZYsPADAdw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
January 28, 2022 letting project list is up on ALDOT letting website. Pretty much all resurfacing projects with the exception of the SR-185 project in Butler County in Greenville in the I-65 Exit 130 area. Not sure what they will be doing there but that particular exit is the busiest between Mobile and Montgomery in my opinion, especially during holiday/summer travel periods as all the beach-goers from Daulphin Island all the way to Destin are on I-65 by the time they go through Greenville. We'll see what they will do when the plans get posted online in a couple weeks.

[roadman65]

Why do US 90 and 98 split up at Spanish Fort?  At US 31’s south end US 98 is not concurrent with US 90, despite signage.  US 98 uses a cut off-road on the SW part of that city, and US 90 rides solo through there.

[74/171FAN]

I have been working on a route plan for the Natchez, MS, Trip, and I noticed that the US 82 Gordo Bypass (I was specifically drawn to Gordo as a result of an elderly woman at church that passed away last week as Gordo was the name of her dog.)  according to the ALDOT website is supposed to be completed this year.

Construction is expected to finish in 2022. The project will realign US-82 from west of Gordo to the Tuscaloosa County line and will include Bridge Replacement on Gordo City Dump Road over the tributary of Little Bear Creek.

The first phase of the project cost $46.8 million and is an 80/20 funding split. Eighty percent is paid by the federal government and 20 percent is paid by the state. The second phase is expected for bid in 2021.

However, that last sentence makes me hesitant to post it to the Travel Mapping forum because it makes me question its true status. 

[codyg1985]

I have been working on a route plan for the Natchez, MS, Trip, and I noticed that the US 82 Gordo Bypass (I was specifically drawn to Gordo as a result of an elderly woman at church that passed away last week as Gordo was the name of her dog.)  according to the ALDOT website is supposed to be completed this year.

Construction is expected to finish in 2022. The project will realign US-82 from west of Gordo to the Tuscaloosa County line and will include Bridge Replacement on Gordo City Dump Road over the tributary of Little Bear Creek.

The first phase of the project cost $46.8 million and is an 80/20 funding split. Eighty percent is paid by the federal government and 20 percent is paid by the state. The second phase is expected for bid in 2021.

However, that last sentence makes me hesitant to post it to the Travel Mapping forum because it makes me question its true status. 

They never bid the base and pave portion of that project in 2021, so it will not be finished. It is scheduled for letting now in 2023 according to the latest STIP.

[froggie]

I can't access the ALDOT website (a recurring problem for me, have no idea why), but my guess is that the phase "expected to finish in 2022" is the grading, drainage, and bridges, while the "second phase" would be the paving.  This is fairly common in both Mississippi and Alabama, where new alignment projects like this are broken down into two contracts, one for grading, the other for paving.

[74/171FAN]

I can't access the ALDOT website (a recurring problem for me, have no idea why), but my guess is that the phase "expected to finish in 2022" is the grading, drainage, and bridges, while the "second phase" would be the paving.  This is fairly common in both Mississippi and Alabama, where new alignment projects like this are broken down into two contracts, one for grading, the other for paving.

That makes sense.  Up here in PA, the northern section of the CSVT was broken into similar contracts the same way.

[formulanone]

US 82 west of Gordo (headed westbound), last month...grading of the lanes are ready but to paving hasn't started.


It's two lanes through Gordo, but four lanes though nearby Reform. There's an old US 82 sign hidden between those two towns...

[wriddle082]

^
So this stretch of US 82 will be “Virginia twinned” with the existing two lane alignment utilized as-is for one carriageway?

And if I’m not mistaken it’s four lanes undivided through Reform, and I think it needs to be bypassed as well.  Last time I was on US 82 west of Tuscaloosa was nearly 4 years ago and some construction appeared to be ongoing on a bypass alignment somewhere.

[codyg1985]

^
So this stretch of US 82 will be “Virginia twinned” with the existing two lane alignment utilized as-is for one carriageway?

And if I’m not mistaken it’s four lanes undivided through Reform, and I think it needs to be bypassed as well.  Last time I was on US 82 west of Tuscaloosa was nearly 4 years ago and some construction appeared to be ongoing on a bypass alignment somewhere.

You are correct in that it is five lanes through Reform. It is four lanes divided west of Reform to the Mississippi state line. That was finished in the late 2000s.

[cbalducc]

I would have thought four-landing that Highway would be a priority with Mississippi State and Alabama as football rivals.

[wriddle082]

^
So this stretch of US 82 will be “Virginia twinned” with the existing two lane alignment utilized as-is for one carriageway?

And if I’m not mistaken it’s four lanes undivided through Reform, and I think it needs to be bypassed as well.  Last time I was on US 82 west of Tuscaloosa was nearly 4 years ago and some construction appeared to be ongoing on a bypass alignment somewhere.

You are correct in that it is five lanes through Reform. It is four lanes divided west of Reform to the Mississippi state line. That was finished in the late 2000s.

I thought it felt newish when I crossed from MS into AL.  Before 2018 I had travelled it was in the mid-90’s and I remember the two- to four-lane transition happening right at the state line, and it was the first time I had seen a small SPEED LIMIT 70 sign in MS.

I would have thought four-landing that Highway would be a priority with Mississippi State and Alabama as football rivals.

I thought the same thing, and I believe Mississippi State University and the University of Alabama are the closest two SEC schools to one another at just over 80 miles.  But I guess Crimson Tide fans could care less if the cow bell ringers make it to the games on time or not.

[I-55]

The widened I-565 is now viewable on GSV from exit 7 to I-65 in the westbound direction.

[froggie]

Brookside, AL has become the "quintessential speed trap town".  Beware if you're traveling through on I-22.

https://www.al.com/news/2022/01/police-in-this-tiny-alabama-town-suck-drivers-into-legal-black-hole.html

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah small towns like that should not be allowed to patrol interstates.

[milbfan]

^
So this stretch of US 82 will be “Virginia twinned” with the existing two lane alignment utilized as-is for one carriageway?

And if I’m not mistaken it’s four lanes undivided through Reform, and I think it needs to be bypassed as well.  Last time I was on US 82 west of Tuscaloosa was nearly 4 years ago and some construction appeared to be ongoing on a bypass alignment somewhere.

You are correct in that it is five lanes through Reform. It is four lanes divided west of Reform to the Mississippi state line. That was finished in the late 2000s.

By June 2007.  I went to a Super-Regional game at Starkville (from Tuscaloosa), and I was blown away that it was finally finished.

[Tom958]

Yeah small towns like that should not be allowed to patrol interstates.

That's not the point. This is happening because of widespread corruption involving most or all of the city government and god knows who else. It's caused by criminals, not the size of the town, and the solution is to prosecute the criminals.

I wouldn't be surprised to discover that there are other small towns in Alabama that use their outside-the-city-limits policing authority responsibly. Why punish them for some other town's malfeasance?

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah small towns like that should not be allowed to patrol interstates.

That's not the point. This is happening because of widespread corruption involving most or all of the city government and god knows who else. It's caused by criminals, not the size of the town, and the solution is to prosecute the criminals.

I wouldn't be surprised to discover that there are other small towns in Alabama that use their outside-the-city-limits policing authority responsibly. Why punish them for some other town's malfeasance?

No it’s caused by police departments who use speeding laws to generate revenue. That is not the point behind laws against exceeding the speed limit.

[formulanone]

Yeah small towns like that should not be allowed to patrol interstates.

That's not the point. This is happening because of widespread corruption involving most or all of the city government and god knows who else. It's caused by criminals, not the size of the town, and the solution is to prosecute the criminals.

I wouldn't be surprised to discover that there are other small towns in Alabama that use their outside-the-city-limits policing authority responsibly. Why punish them for some other town's malfeasance?

I believe all jurisdictions in Alabama are permitted to patrol a two-mile window beyond their city/town borders, unless it infringes upon an city/town jurisdiction. If I-22 is in their backyard, they get the right to do so. But it's far enough from the actual town limits that it clearly has nothing to do with "public safety".

Honestly, there's not that much of it in most towns; Brookside is a notable exception. No town that small needs eight unmarked police cars and a surplus military vehicle. The problem is that the funds just keep feeding the policing machine to unhealthy proportions. 

[froggie]

No it’s caused by police departments who use speeding laws to generate revenue. That is not the point behind laws against exceeding the speed limit.

I feel like this is a blanket statement you're making, which may be the case in other areas but is not the case here.  Alabama law prohibits smaller towns from writing speeding tickets on Interstate routes.  What Brookside is doing along I-22 is writing tickets for other traffic infractions, NOT speeding.

I believe all jurisdictions in Alabama are permitted to patrol a two-mile window beyond their city/town borders, unless it infringes upon an city/town jurisdiction.

1.5 miles or 3 miles, depending on which side of 6K population the jurisdiction has.

[Georgia]

Brookside writes a lot of passing lane violation tickets. 

I noticed on my drive from Mississippi to Atlanta that starting about exit 100 on 20/59 eastbound that ALDOT needs to do some serious work on signage.  Some of the signs are barely legible all the way through the Arkadelphia exit.

Gordo bypass intersection with 159 needs built also, looked like 82 was meant to go over it but there has been no real prep work started on it. 

[codyg1985]

Related to Brookside:

https://www.wbrc.com/2022/01/25/brookside-police-chief-resigns/

[clong]

Im really suprised that QT has not expanded into Alabama, especially the Anniston area? A lot of people who live there, work in the Atlanta area. They choose so because houses are a hell of a lot cheaper West of Villa Rica and there is less traffic to an extent...

A QT is opening up in Tuscaloosa at Exit 77 (Buttermilk Rd) next year.

https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/news/20200128/tuscaloosa-leaders-clear-way-for-quiktrip-to-begin-construction

Got an update last week that the QT in Tuscaloosa is scheduled to open on 2/17.