Three Major Road Construction Projects Set To Impact Our Area
If Tuscaloosa Traffic isn't bad enough, it's about to get worse.
Reports say that a $23.2 million project to upgrade and improve Lurleen Wallace Boulevard in both directions begin this upcoming Spring. Because of the Lurleen Wallace work, along with two other major road construction projects taking place at the at the same time, Tuscaloosa motorists can expect years of inconvenience. However, city leaders say residents will benefit from the improvements for years to come after all is finally completed.
Jointly funded by the city of Tuscaloosa and the Alabama Department of Transportation, the Lurleen Wallace work is expected to take about 18 months to complete at a cost of $23.2 million.
In addition to the Lurleen Wallace Boulevard project, two other major road projects are expected to begin next year.
An estimated $60.2 million project to improve The Intersection Of Alabama Highway 69 South And Skyland Boulevard is expected to begin next summer and take up to three years to complete. Sources say that this project will add travel lanes between the Skyland/69 intersection and Plantation Road, as well as an elevated bridge over the intersection, to allow Alabama Highway 69 traffic to pass through without stopping through the now overly congested intersection.
And on I-20/59, work to widen the northbound and southbound lanes to three lanes between Exit 76 And The McFarland Boulevard Bridge is set to begin next month. This project will involve the installation of a crimson-colored suspension bridge over McFarland Boulevard that will serve as an unofficial gateway to the city. Officials say that this will project will take about two years to complete, that it should be finished by the end of 2020, at a cost of $83.4 million.
City, county and highway department officials are aware of the possible complications these three simultaneous projects could bring. But insist that this wasn't done on purpose, it was simply a matter of timing. As James Brown, region engineer for ALDOT's West Central region told the Tuscaloosa News, “The three projects weren’t planned together, but funding and development worked out that these three projects will overlap”.
Somebody please pass me my Advil because I'm already starting to feel the headaches coming on....
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