Although the growth of North Alabama’s Limestone and Madison Counties is one of the state’s many economic success stories, it has not come without growing pains for the region.
Rush hour back-ups plague Interstate 565, an existing thoroughfare that connects Huntsville to Interstate 65 and nearby Decatur in Morgan County. That could soon change according to State Sen. Tom Butler (R-Madison).
Gov. Kay Ivey made the announcement earlier this year that the I-565 widening project would be part of the first phase of infrastructure upgrades of the Rebuild Alabama Act. During an appearance on Huntsville radio’s WVNN, Butler said the project could be completed as early as next summer.
“[W]hat I did – I called the contractor – the contractor that is working on the Greenbrier overpass and the improvements there,” Butler said on “The Jeff Poor Show.” “Nothing can be done on [Interstate] 565 until that is finished. He said that would finish in October and that the bid would go out for the widening of 565 sometime in December and would be awarded. He told me then it was about a six-month project. So I’m thinking in June, July – we’ll have six lanes there.”
Butler, who is now in the middle of serving a second tenure in the Alabama Senate, attributed the region’s traffic woes for inspiring his latest run for the Alabama Senate.
While the I-565 project is sure to provide relief to commuters, Butler told WVNN the area would still be “playing catch-up” with regards to all the other components needed for the area’s economic development.
“We’re going to be playing catch-up all the way around,” he replied. “Mazda Toyota – 4,000 jobs there. But when you add in their suppliers, when you add in the FBI’s components coming in here and ATF and NASA influx for the new challenges there, we’ve got thousands and thousands of jobs. It means thousands and thousands of houses, and thousands and thousands of people, which means schools, roads and all the other infrastructure. We’ve got to be working.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University, the editor of Breitbart TV and host of “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN in Huntsville.
