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Could we finally get river bridge at Gainestown? There's a push on to four-lane Highway 84 across south Alabama. And a movement is underway to extend Interstate 85 from Montgomery to Meridian, Miss. For years there has been talk of developing a major north-south route through west Alabama, from Baldwin and Mobile counties to the Tennessee River Valley. That talk may still be talk but nearly $6 million in study money at least makes it official talk. Representatives from the Alabama Department of Transportation offices in Grove Hill and Montgomery will be on hand to hear comments from local residents on the study for a proposed West Alabama Freeway during a public meeting, Oct. 5 at the ALDOT office in Grove Hill. The meeting is from 5 until 7 p.m. The public's input is sought on the wide corridor study area as well as the more concentrated subcorridors. The corridor being considered is from near Interstate 10 in south Alabama to Interstate 59 near Tuscaloosa. The corridor continues northward to Tuscumbia, Florence, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. "This would link Mobile with the quad cities area, which would link two ports. It is expected the freeway would help with economic development in the state," explained Lou Wallace of the Grove Hill ALDOT office. One of the subcorridors runs from south Mobile County up through Citronelle, through central Washington County and across the Tombigbee River near Jackson and on up through Clarke County. Another starts at I-10 near Loxley in Baldwin County and runs northward, crossing the Alabama River near Gainestown and continues north through Clarke County. Years ago there was talk of bridging the Alabama River at Gainestown. This route would certainly make a short trip to the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area as well as to Pensacola, Fla. It also could be a great help as a hurricane evacuation route. If all of these highway projects ever develop-or at least one or two of them-we'll be riding in high style in southwest Alabama!
See a map of the study corridor and more on the meeting in an ad elsewhere in today's paper.
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