At an Alabama League of Municipalities Luncheon on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) spoke about the importance of finishing Birmingham's Northern Beltline and advocated for widening Interstate 65, though he said he didn't know if that should be a top priority.
During this week's broadcast of Alabama Public Television's "Capitol Journal," Ainsworth argued politics still dominate transportation policy and that he would like to see a need-based approach.
Governor Kay Ivey has one ally in her bid to finish a four-lane route between Tuscaloosa and Mobile.
It is likely years away from the possibility of Interstate 65 adding an additional lane in both directions to alleviate traffic flow problems.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is proposing an interstate rail line in lieu of the much-debated widening of Interstate 65.
Friday, former President Donald Trump surprised attendees of the summer Alabama Republican Party dinner by mentioning widening Interstate 65 from Mobile to Huntsville during his 45-minute address.
While there were many applause lines for the 2,700 people in attendance for former President Donald Trump's address to the Alabama Republican Party at the Renaissance Hotel, his most enthusiastic came for an Alabama-centric issue.
Although Gov. Kay Ivey has not commented publicly on Montgomery County Circuit Judge Jimmy Pool's scathing rebuke of Alabama Department of Transportation director John Cooper for his and his agency's handling of a bridge construction project in South Baldwin County, she did respond to Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth's multiple overtures to widen Interstate 65, which Alabama major north-south thoroughfare.
The traffic plaguing a stretch of Interstate 65 between Birmingham and Montgomery has been a cause of frustration for regular travelers for decades.
From state line to state line, Georgia's portion of Interstate 75 is six-laned. Many of the exits along Georgia's longest Interstate highway, from the suburbs south of Chattanooga, Tenn. to Valdosta, have $1 billion in business investment, ranging from distribution centers to hotels, motels and restaurants. Alabama's version of Interstate 75, which is Interstate 65, pales in comparison.