Interstate 63 (Mobile - Muscle Shoals, AL via Tuscaloosa)

[US 41]

I saw somewhere that Alabama officials are considering building an I-63 through western Alabama. I couldn't find much on it. Does anyone know if this is actually legit?

[Alex]

I saw somewhere that Alabama officials are considering building an I-63 through western Alabama. I couldn't find much on it. Does anyone know if this is actually legit?

The Black Belt freeway concept (Mobile to Florence) has been around for a long time, but its just a pipe dream due to funding woes. The same can be said about the Memphis to Atlanta by way of Huntsville freeway concept that ALDOT contemplates from time to time.

Neither corridor ever garnered serious enough interest to receive a designation.

[Charles2]

Both of them would be the ultimate in pork barrel projects.  Between Mobile and Tuscaloosa is the most sparsely populated area of the state.  And once I-22 is completed, motorists will have a continuous interstate route between Atlanta and Memphis (I-20 to I-65 to I-22).  While Huntsville is left out of having a direct interstate connection to Memphis or Atlanta, US-72 is a four-lane route between Huntsville and the outskirts of Memphis, and US 431 and then I-20 provides a four-lane route between Huntsville and Atlanta.

There are two more useful interstate routes that Alabama should consider (and both have been discusses ad nauseum on this message board.  One would be from Montgomery through Dothan to Panama City (hello, I-67?)  The other would be extending I-22 SE of Birmingham through Auburn/Opelika, Columbus, and Albany to either end at I-75 near Tifton, or perhaps connecting with I-95 between Savannah and Brunswick, or even angling to Jacksonville.

[golden eagle]

There's also the proposed (or pipe-dreamed) Austin, TX-to-Savannah, GA interstate that would parallel US 84.

While a proposed I-63 may be seen as pork barrel (given that it does go through a sparsely populated area), it can spur economic development in an area where it's badly needed, and it could also serve as another hurricane evacuation route. But I don't live in Alabama, so I have no dog in this fight.

[Charles2]

I think one of the biggest questions concerning a proposed interstate or interstate-quality route in western Alabama would be where would it go after it left the Shoals area (Muscle Shoals-Florence-Tuscumbia)?  Would it connect with I-65 at Columbia, Tennessee? I-40 at Jackson or closer to Nashville?

As it stands now, US 43 is a four-lane divided highway leading north from Mobile to Thomasville.  North of Thomasville the only town of substantial size between there and Tuscaloosa on that route is Demopolis.  Perhaps extending the four-lane north from Thomasville to Eutaw, where it connects with I-20/59, makes sense, then four-laning US 43 north of Tuscaloosa through Fayette towards Hamilton would be a better use of money.  In many respects, US 43's sole purpose in south Alabama is to connect Mobile and Tuscaloosa on football game days.

[Alex]

While a proposed I-63 may be seen as pork barrel (given that it does go through a sparsely populated area), it can spur economic development in an area where it's badly needed, and it could also serve as another hurricane evacuation route. But I don't live in Alabama, so I have no dog in this fight.

That was part of the emphasis for the Black Belt freeway concept. More on that from the 2001 Mobile Press Register article: "Highway alone may not be enough"

Proponents of a proposed freeway for western Alabama tout it as a way to alleviate the poverty that besets the region - a way to attract new industry and tax dollars and shorten travel times.

One look at a map will illustrate the lack of major highways in his area, said Choctaw County Commission Chairman Michael Armistead, who is also probate judge.

"I think it's long overdue," Armistead said. "There's a big void south of Tuscaloosa, north of Mobile-Baldwin and west of Montgomery."

Like other rural areas, Choctaw County struggles with higher-than-average unemployment, a dwindling population and dilapidated school facilities.

Demopolis Mayor Austin Caldwell said his city is 25 miles of two-lane roads from Interstate 59. If quicker access comes through in the form of a freeway , that could bring more industry to Alabama's Black Belt .

"That would put us four lanes from the interstate, which would put you anywhere you want to go," said Caldwell, whose city lies in north Marengo County. "It would open up a corridor for industrial development along the western side of Alabama that we just don't have at this time."

And a 2008 article "Quit talking and start planning new road"

As state Sen. Rusty Glover, R-Semmes, noted, the highway would make for safer trips to Tuscaloosa for University of Alabama students from this area (not to mention football fans). The highway also would offer a hurricane-evacuation alternative to Interstate 65.

But the primary reason for the highway is economic development of the Black Belt , the rural and impoverished part of Alabama that mostly relies on agriculture. Because there is no easy way to get to the region, it has yet to benefit from the large-scale developments such as auto plants and the Thyssen-Krupp AG steel mill that have made such positive impacts elsewhere. 

The underused Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway could benefit from a major thoroughfare through the region. Developers would be much more likely to move north from Mobile into rural counties, especially as the steel plant comes on line and ThyssenKrupp suppliers begin moving in around it.

[tidecat]

Kentucky could show some interest in connecting a West Alabama freeway to the Pennyrile Parkway at Hopkinsville, but Tennessee would have little to gain by building something that would not be that far from TN 840.  Getting to I-20/59 would be sufficient for most potential users of I-63.  The Tuscaloosa-Shoals portion of the route would have less demand than Tuscaloosa-Mobile.

For hurricane evacuation a connection to I-22 would be nice, but even Tuscaloosa is generally a safe distance from the coast for most storms.

Mississippi and Tennessee might have some interest in a Tupelo-Jackson interstate over US 45, which could work with a multiplex over I-22.

Any route for an I-63 would be an admission that I-65 is beyond expanding, especially by Tennessee.  I just don't see Tennessee buying into I-63 given its relative lack of interest in widening I-65, and that west-east needs are more pressing.

[Charles2]

I would think that outside of Birmingham, I-65 is expandable in Alabama.  The biggest challenge would be north of Cullman between AL-157 and US-31 at Vinemont.  Much blasting would have to be done to make it work on that stretch.  Widening I-65 between Hoover and downtown Birmingham would be an absolute nightmare, though.

[SSF]

the last stretch of 65 to get built north of Mobile would also be a PITA to widen.

[golden eagle]

Mississippi and Tennessee might have some interest in a Tupelo-Jackson interstate over US 45, which could work with a multiplex over I-22.

Doesn't seem like a bad idea. Given that 45 is a freeway from Tupelo to the Tennessee line, Mississippi wouldn't have to do much to make it happen.

[US 41]

Mississippi and Tennessee might have some interest in a Tupelo-Jackson interstate over US 45, which could work with a multiplex over I-22.

Doesn't seem like a bad idea. Given that 45 is a freeway from Tupelo to the Tennessee line, Mississippi wouldn't have to do much to make it happen.

In fact Mississippi wouldn't have do do too much to make US 45 / SR 57 / SR 63 an interstate itself.

[codyg1985]

A few thoughts:

Both ideas (Mobile-Shoals and Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta) are pretty much dead or on life support. As others have said, there are more pressing needs throughout the state that need to be addressed first. Same goes with the I-85 extension, IMO. It is almost in Fictional Highways territory, honestly.

US 431 and then I-20 provides a four-lane route between Huntsville and Atlanta.

While US 431 is a four-lane route between Huntsville and Oxford, it is riddled with traffic lights in Guntersville/Albertville/Boaz, Gadsden, and Anniston/Oxford. Freeway, or expressway bypasses of these areas would really help through traffic. Other than the Anniston Eastern Bypass (which is almost finished), there aren't any concrete plans for bypasses elsewhere. Also, the Anniston Eastern Bypass south of Choccolocco Road is a five-lane, undivided road with traffic lights, so it may not serve as much of a bypass, anyway. I have heard of proposals to extend I-759 in both directions to connect with US 431 at both ends, and that would really help, but I have not heard anything on that lately.

While a proposed I-63 may be seen as pork barrel (given that it does go through a sparsely populated area), it can spur economic development in an area where it's badly needed, and it could also serve as another hurricane evacuation route. But I don't live in Alabama, so I have no dog in this fight.

It will take more than an interstate to spur economic development in this area. I-20/59 already goes through some of the poorest counties in the state. As far as a hurricane evacuation route, US 43 is probably sufficient for that, along with I-65 contraflow.

I think one of the biggest questions concerning a proposed interstate or interstate-quality route in western Alabama would be where would it go after it left the Shoals area (Muscle Shoals-Florence-Tuscumbia)?  Would it connect with I-65 at Columbia, Tennessee? I-40 at Jackson or closer to Nashville?

Kentucky could show some interest in connecting a West Alabama freeway to the Pennyrile Parkway at Hopkinsville, but Tennessee would have little to gain by building something that would not be that far from TN 840.  Getting to I-20/59 would be sufficient for most potential users of I-63.  The Tuscaloosa-Shoals portion of the route would have less demand than Tuscaloosa-Mobile.

I think the idea was to connect it with the Memphis-Huntsville-Atlanta freeway, but beyond The Shoals, I don't think there was really any place else for it to go. Going to Jackson from The Shoals would require two costly Tennessee River crossings (assuming it crosses the river at Florence). Maybe it could connect with I-24 at Clarksville, TN and form what was going to be part of the north leg of TN 840, but I don't think Tennessee really has any interest in doing anything for this route, even if Alabama was serious about building it (which it isn't). It would be nice to connect to the Pennyrile Pkwy, though.

Any route for an I-63 would be an admission that I-65 is beyond expanding, especially by Tennessee.  I just don't see Tennessee buying into I-63 given its relative lack of interest in widening I-65, and that west-east needs are more pressing.

I would think that outside of Birmingham, I-65 is expandable in Alabama.  The biggest challenge would be north of Cullman between AL-157 and US-31 at Vinemont.  Much blasting would have to be done to make it work on that stretch.  Widening I-65 between Hoover and downtown Birmingham would be an absolute nightmare, though.

I think the Birmingham stretch, the Mobile River and Tennessee River bridges would be the most difficult portions of I-65 to widen between Nashville and Mobile. I really don't think that I-65 needs widening between Spring Hill, TN and Athens, AL, and I am not sure it needs widening south of Montgomery, either. I do think it needs widening from Franklin, KY to Nashville and from Franklin, TN to Spring Hill, Athens south to Montgomery, especially south of Cullman and north of Calera. I don't think it would be too hard to widen I-65 near Vinemont. It could be widened in the median, and retaining walls could be used to account for the different elevations of the northbound and southbound lanes. Think of the section of I-65 south of AL 119 near Oak Mountain State Park, but on a larger scale. It would be more expensive, but it is doable.

[froggie]

Doesn't seem like a bad idea. Given that 45 is a freeway from Tupelo to the Tennessee line, Mississippi wouldn't have to do much to make it happen.

In fact Mississippi wouldn't have do do too much to make US 45 / SR 57 / SR 63 an interstate itself.

Not true.  Much of the US 45 and MS 63 4-laning was done along their existing locations, retaining existing private access.  You'd either have to buy out these properties or provide frontage or backage road access along significant lengths.  And that's before you even get to interchanges.  Furthermore, regardless of whether you choose US 45 or ALT US 45, you'd have to build one full bypass, as US 45 goes straight through Columbus and Aberdeen, while ALT US 45 goes straight through West Point.

Even on the new-alignment sections, which technically are limited-access, MDOT allows private driveways to line up with the median crossovers, often at a 1/4 mile spacing.  The only segments that are truly limited-access (because they're freeways) are the Meridian bypass, from Shannon to Saltillo (through Tupelo), and the Corinth bypass.

[ttownfeen]

A complete widening to four lanes of US 43 from Thomasville to Eutaw & US 43/AL 13 from Northport to Phil Campbell is all that is necessary.  The vast majority of traffic on this route is football traffic to Tuscaloosa and beach traffic to the coast. Not nearly enough to warrant an interestate, let alone a freeway.

[froggie]

Even a 4-lane surface route would be overkill on some segments.