Road projects should outpace traffic growth in the coming decade (Outlook 2011) (original) (raw)

Overpass at Memorial Parkway and Sparkman DriveView full sizeWorkers use two cranes to lift first beam into place on the northbound lane of the Memorial Parkway overpass at Sparkman Drive. The overpass is one of many road projects that should be completed long before 2021. (The Huntsville Times/Bob Gathany)

Outlook 2011

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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- A limited access Memorial Parkway from Sparkman Drive to Weatherly Road, a full interchange at Interstate 565 and County Line Road, and a four-lane Alabama 53 to Ardmore.

If everything goes as scheduled, all of those road projects will be completed to make driving in Huntsville smoother in 2021.

The road projects scheduled to be completed by 2021 should outpace the growth in traffic volume over the same period, said Steve Dinges, a city planner who specializes on transportation planning.

"All of our main arteries would be in good shape," he said.

But, Dinges warned, other road and traffic issues will remain even if all the planned projects go as scheduled.

Local leaders want to widen Research Park Boulevard to six lanes between I-565 and U.S. 72, widen I-565 to six lanes from Wall Triana Highway to I-65 and build more overpasses on Memorial Parkway.

The long-range transportation plan factors in where planners expect growth to occur, Dinges said.

Projects that require federal money take longer to design and build than city projects, he said. So, some of the projects on today's schedule to be completed by 2021 could be delayed, he said.

"If any federal money is involved, it has to be under design now," Dinges said. "Some of the major projects can take 10 years to design."

The Parkway overpasses at Max Luther and Sparkman drives should be completed late next year. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2016 to build overpasses at Lily Flagg and Byrd Spring roads and change the Martin Road interchange.

"Each overpass about doubles the capacity of that part of Memorial Parkway," Dinges said.

The Alabama Department of Transportation plans to widen Memorial Parkway (U.S. 231) to six lanes from Green Cove Road to the Tennessee River, where a three-lane southbound bridge is scheduled to be under construction in 2014.

The long-awaited widening of Alabama 53 from Huntsville to Interstate 65 south of Ardmore should be completed, Dinges said.

Construction has started on the next phase from Research Park Boulevard to Jeff Road and the last phase from Pinedale Road in Limestone County to I-65 is scheduled for construction in 2017.

In the same area, extending the limited access portion of Research Park Boulevard to east of Alabama 53, including an overpass at Alabama 53, is under construction and is expected to be completed in late 2012.

The Governors Drive widening through the medical district could be completed this year and the widening of Old Madison Pike between Slaughter Road and Thornton Research Park is set to begin next year.

On I-565, construction to add a westbound exit ramp and an eastbound entrance ramp at County Line Road is scheduled to begin in 2012, but could slip back two years, Dinges said.

Another state project expected to be completed by 2021 is extending the limited access on U.S. 72 to east of Shields Road, including overpasses at Moores Mill and Shields roads;

Money has been budgeted for all of the state projects except for the northern bypass between Pulaski Pike and U.S. 231/431, Dinges said. The city has asked Gov. Robert Bentley for the money to build it, he said.

The city has plans to widen Martin Road from Zierdt Road to Laracy Drive; widen Zierdt Road from Martin Road to Madison Boulevard; and widen Zierdt Road from Martin Road to Beadle Lane; and smaller projects on U.S. 72 at Balch, Nance and Jeff roads.

Widening of Meridian Street between Pratt and Oakwood avenues has begun, and the widening and relocation of Church Street between Monroe Street and Oakwood Avenue is set to start next year.

The city also intends to improve the intersection at U.S. 431 and Dug Hill Road this year, widen Winchester Road from Dominion Circle to Naugher Road, and extend Greenbrier Road from I-565 to Browns Ferry Road to create a connection with the I-65 interchange at Tanner.

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