In May of 2004 the Paul "Bear" Bryant Bridge went into use. Although to some it may seem to be a "bridge to nowhere" perhaps built before it's time (none of the rest fo the Eastern Bypass has even been cleared of trees and houses yet), for those living north of the river and in the Holt area, the opening of the bridge comes as an immense relief -- McFarland Boulevard traffic sucks!!! Now maybe Northridge High and Holt HS kids can start some kind of destructive, vandalistic rivalry.
The next phase of the bypass system will cross Crescent Ridge Road, displacing a number of homes. The bypass is designed to be limited access, with exits at Crescent Ridge, Old Birmingham Highway (AL 216) and I-20 59 between Cottondale and the Coaling/US 11 exit. This second phase (Crescent Ridge) has been surveyed but no dirt (and no people) have been moved yet. The bypass is a state project and as such moves less quickly than local projects like Rose Boulevard.
The federal government is, of course, kicking in a large portion of the funding as well. Senator Richard Shelby's re-election in 2004 has helped to assure that Uncle Sam will continue to take an interest in seeing the bypass completed. |
