According to the Blount County Emergency Management Agency, a section of Alabama Highway 160 in Blount County collapsed Sunday night.
Reports came in just before 8 p.m. of a collapse between Mountain Lake Road and Stand Holton Drive. Fire crews were quickly dispatched to the scene, and the Alabama Department of Transportation was notified.
Highway 160 has long been plagued with traffic accidents and fatalities, but ALDOT has done little to address the problems despite repeated requests for relief from local residents.
In November 2015, the highway saw three wrecks in one day, one of which resulted in the death of a motorcyclist. That same year, three Hayden High School cheerleaders were killed in a single-car wreck on the highway, and early this year in April, a Hayden man was killed in a collision with a Blount County school bus.
In 2006, then Gov. Bob Riley promised to widen 160 into four lanes. After he failed to deliver, ALDOT announced plans in 2009 to widen five and a half miles of the highway from Interstate 65 to beyond the Hayden schools, Birmingham News reported, and place more state troopers to patrol the area. From Oct. 16-28, 2009, the troopers issued 72 tickets for driving violations.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com.
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