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Alabama

Started by codyg1985, November 02, 2011, 07:44:29 AM

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jdb1234

Quote from: formulanone on April 11, 2021, 10:23:54 AM
Quote from: Georgia on April 06, 2021, 11:47:21 PM
Quote from: I-55 on April 06, 2021, 11:33:56 PM
Was looking around on Google maps satellite and noticed significant road work in the median of AL-255 (Research Park Blvd) in Huntsville. The work zone stretches from I-565 to US-72. It appears to be a widening project. Can anyone confirm this?

yep, it is a widening project.

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/roadworkprojects/research-park-boulevard-sr-255-between-university-drive-u-s-72-and-old-madison-pike/

It backs up tremendously in the Mornings at Gate 9 for the Redstone Arsenal:



Unfortunately, it won't take care of that goofy ramp to westbound I-565, which was pinned too close to the Bradford Road on-ramp.

You meant the ramp from Madison Pike.  Bradford Drive is the next exit north.

This widening project has been needed for a while.  I have had to use AL 255 (or Rideout Rd) between I-565 and US 72 many times over the years and it can be a pain.


I-55

Quote from: jdb1234 on April 11, 2021, 01:12:49 PM
Quote from: formulanone on April 11, 2021, 10:23:54 AM
Quote from: Georgia on April 06, 2021, 11:47:21 PM
Quote from: I-55 on April 06, 2021, 11:33:56 PM
Was looking around on Google maps satellite and noticed significant road work in the median of AL-255 (Research Park Blvd) in Huntsville. The work zone stretches from I-565 to US-72. It appears to be a widening project. Can anyone confirm this?

yep, it is a widening project.

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/roadworkprojects/research-park-boulevard-sr-255-between-university-drive-u-s-72-and-old-madison-pike/

It backs up tremendously in the Mornings at Gate 9 for the Redstone Arsenal:



Unfortunately, it won't take care of that goofy ramp to westbound I-565, which was pinned too close to the Bradford Road on-ramp.

You meant the ramp from Madison Pike.  Bradford Drive is the next exit north.

This widening project has been needed for a while.  I have had to use AL 255 (or Rideout Rd) between I-565 and US 72 many times over the years and it can be a pain.

Are those backups the reason Gate 9 got moved further south or was it the development of the Redstone Gateway area?
Let's Go Purdue Basketball Whoosh

jdb1234

Quote from: I-55 on April 11, 2021, 07:49:41 PM
Quote from: jdb1234 on April 11, 2021, 01:12:49 PM
Quote from: formulanone on April 11, 2021, 10:23:54 AM
Quote from: Georgia on April 06, 2021, 11:47:21 PM
Quote from: I-55 on April 06, 2021, 11:33:56 PM
Was looking around on Google maps satellite and noticed significant road work in the median of AL-255 (Research Park Blvd) in Huntsville. The work zone stretches from I-565 to US-72. It appears to be a widening project. Can anyone confirm this?

yep, it is a widening project.

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/roadworkprojects/research-park-boulevard-sr-255-between-university-drive-u-s-72-and-old-madison-pike/

It backs up tremendously in the Mornings at Gate 9 for the Redstone Arsenal:



Unfortunately, it won't take care of that goofy ramp to westbound I-565, which was pinned too close to the Bradford Road on-ramp.

You meant the ramp from Madison Pike.  Bradford Drive is the next exit north.

This widening project has been needed for a while.  I have had to use AL 255 (or Rideout Rd) between I-565 and US 72 many times over the years and it can be a pain.

Are those backups the reason Gate 9 got moved further south or was it the development of the Redstone Gateway area?

I am pretty sure it was the development of the Redstone Gateway area.  Gate 9 was the only 24/7 open gate into Redstone Arsenal at one point.

froggie

Has anyone else had issues getting to ALDOT's website lately?  I've tried on multiple devices with multiple browsers and had no luck for a number of weeks now.

asdfjkll

Quote from: froggie on April 20, 2021, 10:14:28 PM
Has anyone else had issues getting to ALDOT's website lately?  I've tried on multiple devices with multiple browsers and had no luck for a number of weeks now.
ALDOT's website was recently modernized (long overdue!), and as of right now the site is working properly most of the time, they've fixed most of the bugs that were occurring on mobile browsers but there are a couple minor bugs that still have to be ironed out. Some old links may have to be updated as they are on new pages in the new website.

froggie

It seems to be a problem with my ISP.

jdb1234

I took a daytrip to Harvest, AL last week, a part of the Huntsville area I had not visited before.  A few notes:

I-65 can be chore to drive north of Birmingham.  I could not tell if it was because of the traffic or the left lane hogs (or both).

I-565 is being 6-laned from I-65 to County Line Road in Madison.  It did not look like it will be finished anytime soon though.

A loop ramp has been added at Exit 3 (Greenbriar Rd.).  I assume that is for the new Toyota-Mazda plant.

The new exit to Town Madison Blvd on I-565 has been opened.  Traffic can only enter or exit eastbound.  A westbound exit is on the drawing board.  The new exit is Exit 10.

I, yet again, nearly missed the ramp to I-565 west from AL 255 south on my back home.

I will be back in the Huntsville area again Friday. 


codyg1985

Quote from: jdb1234 on May 04, 2021, 10:40:07 AM
I took a daytrip to Harvest, AL last week, a part of the Huntsville area I had not visited before.  A few notes:

I-65 can be chore to drive north of Birmingham.  I could not tell if it was because of the traffic or the left lane hogs (or both).

I-565 is being 6-laned from I-65 to County Line Road in Madison.  It did not look like it will be finished anytime soon though.

A loop ramp has been added at Exit 3 (Greenbriar Rd.).  I assume that is for the new Toyota-Mazda plant.

The new exit to Town Madison Blvd on I-565 has been opened.  Traffic can only enter or exit eastbound.  A westbound exit is on the drawing board.  The new exit is Exit 10.

I, yet again, nearly missed the ramp to I-565 west from AL 255 south on my back home.

I will be back in the Huntsville area again Friday. 



ALDOT at least has plans for a 2024 letting of widening the remainder of I-565 between County Line Road/Madison Blvd and Wall-Triana Blvd. That will be nice. Now if they would focus on widening I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery and between Birmingham and I-565.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

Tom958

A section of AL 117 that's on Google Maps' preferred route between ATL and Huntsville has been closed by the threat of a landslide.  It's possible to bypass the closure via CR's 89 and 604.
https://www.waaytv.com/content/news/Landslide-forces-closure-of-roadway-in-DeKalb-County-574114911.html

jdb1234

Quote from: Tom958 on May 27, 2021, 03:38:50 AM
A section of AL 117 that's on Google Maps' preferred route between ATL and Huntsville has been closed by the threat of a landslide.  It's possible to bypass the closure via CR's 89 and 604.
https://www.waaytv.com/content/news/Landslide-forces-closure-of-roadway-in-DeKalb-County-574114911.html

I noticed that when I was in Fort Payne a month ago that AL 117 was closed with detour signs posted.
On another note, when I was in Fort Payne, I-59 through town was undergoing reconstruction and was down to one lane each way with traffic using the southbound lanes.

asdfjkll

Work has officially begun on the US-82 widening on the 2-lane section in Prattville between SR-14 and US-31. I went through there today and some of the roadwork signs have been erected and they have begun clearing out trees around Autauga Creek near the entrance to the International Paper plant. Newell Roadbuilders out of Hope Hull is the general contractor for this Rebuild Alabama project; they have done other similar jobs across the state as well such as the eastern half of the US-84 Elba Bypass (which they feature on their Facebook page). When complete, the Prattville bypass will become a full four-lane divided roadway, and the existing bridges at the Autauga Northern RR and Autauga Creek will be replaced, and a pair of new bridges will be built to the north of the existing bridges to carry the westbound lanes. The existing two-lane roadway will become the eastbound lanes (similar to the previous 82 widening project to the west of this current project completed a few years ago).

VTGoose

Quote from: jdb1234 on May 27, 2021, 01:49:39 PM
I noticed that when I was in Fort Payne a month ago that AL 117 was closed with detour signs posted.
On another note, when I was in Fort Payne, I-59 through town was undergoing reconstruction and was down to one lane each way with traffic using the southbound lanes.

And not a moment too soon -- the pavement was in pretty poor shape, more potholes with some asphalt between them than the other way around. It looked like they were taking the road down to start over with a new subgrade.
"Get in the fast lane, grandma!  The bingo game is ready to roll!"

Tom958

Last Saturday I stopped at the new AL 117 arch bridge in Mentone. I want to post about this in Bridges, but so far Imgur's let me upload only these two photos. Maybe I'll try for more later.


This is from the southeast end of the bridge. As you can see, the old 1928 bridge and part of the old highway were retained for bike-ped use. If you go there yourself, park on the other side of the bridge. I relocated shortly after taking this because I was parked on the bike path. There's a better spot on the other side.




The new bridge is almost all precast, trucked in and erected with cranes- - there's a two-minute video on Facebook. The arches were in two pieces, with a closure pour between. Even knowing they were there, I was unable to see the limits of the closure pours in the field due to the excellent workmanship. Hats off to everyone involved!  :clap:


bdmoss88

Spotted an article on I14 this week. Not holding my breath to see any of this around here in my lifetime.

https://www.al.com/politics/2021/08/plans-for-alabamas-newest-interstate-i-14-progress-in-us-senate.html

formulanone

Quote from: bdmoss88 on August 06, 2021, 08:37:10 PM
Spotted an article on I14 this week. Not holding my breath to see any of this around here in my lifetime.

https://www.al.com/politics/2021/08/plans-for-alabamas-newest-interstate-i-14-progress-in-us-senate.html

I could see a good deal of the US 80 corridor from I-59/20 to I-65 getting built, a lot of the ROW is available and it's already four lanes across. Selma would need a bypass or some kind.

froggie

^ Not just Selma, but Demopolis and Uniontown as well.  And no, very little of the ROW is "available".  As far as Alabama is concerned, this is basically "I-85 South" in a repackaged format.  Environmental and location studies for that project between Meridian and Montgomery already demonstrated that the vast majority of the route would have to be on new location.

formulanone

Quote from: froggie on August 06, 2021, 11:12:32 PM
^ Not just Selma, but Demopolis and Uniontown as well.  And no, very little of the ROW is "available".  As far as Alabama is concerned, this is basically "I-85 South" in a repackaged format.  Environmental and location studies for that project between Meridian and Montgomery already demonstrated that the vast majority of the route would have to be on new location.


Yeah, half of Uniontown would be demolished if not bypassed (or just dodged somewhat). US 80 sort of already bypasses much of Demopolis, but there's still businesses along it.

Personally, I don't think the traffic counts warrant an "upgrade" to controlled access, but if I-14 becomes signed into reality, I don't foresee any other corridor working out.

codyg1985

Quote from: formulanone on August 08, 2021, 02:36:36 PM
Quote from: froggie on August 06, 2021, 11:12:32 PM
^ Not just Selma, but Demopolis and Uniontown as well.  And no, very little of the ROW is "available".  As far as Alabama is concerned, this is basically "I-85 South" in a repackaged format.  Environmental and location studies for that project between Meridian and Montgomery already demonstrated that the vast majority of the route would have to be on new location.


Yeah, half of Uniontown would be demolished if not bypassed (or just dodged somewhat). US 80 sort of already bypasses much of Demopolis, but there's still businesses along it.

Personally, I don't think the traffic counts warrant an "upgrade" to controlled access, but if I-14 becomes signed into reality, I don't foresee any other corridor working out.

Just because the corridor is written into law doesn't mean money for it will also appear to build it.

I don't see Alabama rushing to build this when there are more pressing needs throughout the state. IMO, the I-10 Mobile River bridge and bayway and widening I-65 across the state should be at the top of the list. I-65 is a death trap here. 
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

Tomahawkin

Yeah, 65 Sucks in the spring and summer because of the Florida traffic. IMO 65 Should be a total of 6 lanes throughout the state, because it's a hurricane evacuation route. The bridge over the mobile river and the following viaduct north of that both need to be renovated or rebuilt? Those bridges are old as dirt! It doesn't cripple a 3 lane road in case of an accident in thr middle of nowhere as opposed to one with 2 lanes where often times the road gets shutdown for over an hour...75 throughout Georgia is 3 lanes in both directions and gets crazy conjested every weekend...That drive sucks!

sparker

Quote from: froggie on August 06, 2021, 11:12:32 PM
^ Not just Selma, but Demopolis and Uniontown as well.  And no, very little of the ROW is "available".  As far as Alabama is concerned, this is basically "I-85 South" in a repackaged format.  Environmental and location studies for that project between Meridian and Montgomery already demonstrated that the vast majority of the route would have to be on new location.


Having traveled on that section of US 80 several times, the only section that might be readily included in an Interstate-grade corridor is the Tombigbee River Bridge (Tenn-Tom navigable waterway) and approaches; the remainder is largely conventional 4-lane rural highway with private access.  Either heroic construction (TX-style with continuous frontages) or new-terrain alignment will be required -- the expense of which likely sunk the previous I-85 extension proposal. 

codyg1985

Quote from: sparker on August 09, 2021, 04:05:26 AM
Quote from: froggie on August 06, 2021, 11:12:32 PM
^ Not just Selma, but Demopolis and Uniontown as well.  And no, very little of the ROW is "available".  As far as Alabama is concerned, this is basically "I-85 South" in a repackaged format.  Environmental and location studies for that project between Meridian and Montgomery already demonstrated that the vast majority of the route would have to be on new location.


Having traveled on that section of US 80 several times, the only section that might be readily included in an Interstate-grade corridor is the Tombigbee River Bridge (Tenn-Tom navigable waterway) and approaches; the remainder is largely conventional 4-lane rural highway with private access.  Either heroic construction (TX-style with continuous frontages) or new-terrain alignment will be required -- the expense of which likely sunk the previous I-85 extension proposal. 

I am not entirely sure what sunk the previous I-85 extension proposal, but I am sure cost was a big factor. I would guess that since most of the route is four-lanes, ALDOT opted to not pursue this further. I would at least consider building limited-access bypasses around the towns as a start, but I stand by my previous comment that this shouldn't be the state's top priority.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States

rlb2024

Quote from: Tomahawkin on August 08, 2021, 08:49:01 PM
Yeah, 65 Sucks in the spring and summer because of the Florida traffic. IMO 65 Should be a total of 6 lanes throughout the state, because it's a hurricane evacuation route. The bridge over the mobile river and the following viaduct north of that both need to be renovated or rebuilt? Those bridges are old as dirt! It doesn't cripple a 3 lane road in case of an accident in thr middle of nowhere as opposed to one with 2 lanes where often times the road gets shutdown for over an hour...75 throughout Georgia is 3 lanes in both directions and gets crazy conjested every weekend ...That drive sucks!
The bridges over the Mobile River are actually not that old -- late 70s/early 80s or so.

rcm195

Quote from: codyg1985 on August 09, 2021, 07:10:28 AM
Quote from: sparker on August 09, 2021, 04:05:26 AM
Quote from: froggie on August 06, 2021, 11:12:32 PM
^ Not just Selma, but Demopolis and Uniontown as well.  And no, very little of the ROW is "available".  As far as Alabama is concerned, this is basically "I-85 South" in a repackaged format.  Environmental and location studies for that project between Meridian and Montgomery already demonstrated that the vast majority of the route would have to be on new location.


Having traveled on that section of US 80 several times, the only section that might be readily included in an Interstate-grade corridor is the Tombigbee River Bridge (Tenn-Tom navigable waterway) and approaches; the remainder is largely conventional 4-lane rural highway with private access.  Either heroic construction (TX-style with continuous frontages) or new-terrain alignment will be required -- the expense of which likely sunk the previous I-85 extension proposal. 

I am not entirely sure what sunk the previous I-85 extension proposal, but I am sure cost was a big factor. I would guess that since most of the route is four-lanes, ALDOT opted to not pursue this further. I would at least consider building limited-access bypasses around the towns as a start, but I stand by my previous comment that this shouldn't be the state's top priority.
I must agree with you here. It shouldn't be the state's top priority. Sadly, this whole region is depressed and an Interstate would help, it's just there are more pressing needs at this time.

bdmoss88

I drove over to Hamilton this past Friday and on I-22 at exit 39 the Natural Bridge and Eldridge have been covered with plates that have Haleyville and Tuscaloosa.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.950805,-87.6099546,3a,75y,314.95h,97.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sk7RtM5QJqUQ3mbxhUfzeGA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

codyg1985

Quote from: bdmoss88 on October 12, 2021, 10:08:27 PM
I drove over to Hamilton this past Friday and on I-22 at exit 39 the Natural Bridge and Eldridge have been covered with plates that have Haleyville and Tuscaloosa.
https://www.google.com/maps/@33.950805,-87.6099546,3a,75y,314.95h,97.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sk7RtM5QJqUQ3mbxhUfzeGA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Those honestly make more sense for that interchange, with Eldridge and Natural Bridge getting supplemental signage.
Cody Goodman
Huntsville, AL, United States



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