More than a year ago, at the annual Alabama Republican Party winter dinner, former President Donald Trump pledged that one of his first orders of business would be to widen Interstate 65 from Huntsville to Birmingham.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) closed all lanes of Interstate 65 in Autauga County Friday afternoon.
While much of the focus on improving Interstate 65 in Alabama has been on the chronically congested portion between Birmingham and Montgomery, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth argued the route merited attention because it offers access to and from the Gulf Coast.
The Go Wide I-65 Coalition, a newly formed non-profit dedicated to widening Alabama’s Interstate 65, announced a multi-state campaign on Friday to draw attention to the needed updates to the state’s often congested main highway.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Smith offered his assessment of I-65 traffic problems plaguing parts of his district and expressed his hope for attention from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).
The Shelby County Commission announced on Monday night that construction on a portion of Interstate 65 from just north of Alabaster to Calera will begin next year and continue into at least 2027 to widen the roadway as it is frequently backed up.
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.