While Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth has made it a priority to add lanes to Interstate 65 through Alabama to ease traffic conditions, some in the Legislature are skeptical it can be accomplished in the near term.
While driving home from the Auburn/Kentucky basketball game it’s obvious that If Tennessee can six-lane I-65, Alabama should do the same. It’s my number one infrastructure project for Alabama. Let’s all work together to make it happen and end frustrating interstate gridlock. pic.twitter.com/xeaWZxNEoR
— Will Ainsworth (@willainsworthAL) February 26, 2023
Recently on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program,” House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) discussed what actions the Legislature could take to improve traffic congestion in the Yellowhammer State.
“I think it’d be tough to add a lane all the way down 65,” Ledbetter said. “The lieutenant governor is one of my closest friends. I understand where he’s coming from and definitely agree that we’ve got to have some relief. I think there are areas where we get congestion, it makes it back up, that if we can alleviate those by adding additional lanes it would be a tremendous help.”
The lawmaker said I-65 isn’t the only problem area that would need to see some improvements.
“It’s not just on 65,” he said. “Some of it on (I-)59 even. When I come up through 59, when you get up through Trussville there, it gets backed up pretty bad, and then when it gets backed up at Trussville it backs all the way on 459. Some of those areas you just add another lane and let the traffic flow, that would be very beneficial, and I think that would be a great place to start, and it would be accomplishing what he’s is talking about, but we could probably do that immediately.”
Ledbetter said they could use some of the gas tax revenue to make those needed road changes.
“I think it’s a combination,” he argued. “You know we’ve got some revenue coming in on Rebuild Alabama. There’s certainly a chance to set some of that aside for it, and to use matching money from the federal government.
“I think if you could work it out, plan it, and try to do it both ways, you could be successful.”
He reiterated that there should be a short-term plan and a long-term plan.
“I think there are some chances,” he said, “where you could add some short lanes in heavy congestion areas where you could keep traffic flowing that would be a lot cheaper and more feasible to start with, and then you could do the long term plan of maybe adding in another lane.”
The speaker emphasized they will need tackle the traffic congestion issue if they want to continue seeing economic growth in the state.
“My concern is if we don’t look at doing something I think it kind of stymies our economy,” he explained, “because people get frustrated trying to travel 65 and you wonder if it doesn’t hurt your business from people coming in from out of state delivering goods or things like that …,” he said. “So I think it’s something that needs to be looked at and I’m certainly glad the lieutenant governor brought it to the forefront. ”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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