Photo courtesy of Birmingham Northern Beltline
Advocates for the project urged ALDOT to keep moving forward and build the next phase of the Beltline — a critical 10-mi. stretch of four-lane highway connecting U.S. Highway 31 near Gardendale to Alabama Highway 79 near Pinson.
A strong show of support for Birmingham, Ala.'s Northern Beltline was evident as several hundred residents attended a public meeting hosted by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) on Aug. 29 in Gardendale.
Advocates for the project urged ALDOT to keep moving forward and build the next phase of the Beltline — a critical 10-mi. stretch of four-lane highway connecting U.S. Highway 31 near Gardendale to Alabama Highway 79 near Pinson.
Construction on the first phase of the Northern Beltline, which will connect Ala. 75 to Ala. 79 in Jefferson County, is progressing on schedule and is expected to be completed by 2026.
Alabama Political Reporter noted that among those supporters of the project were politicians, community officials, economic leaders and area first responders who said the Northern Beltline will help improve their emergency response times.
Fultondale Fire Chief Justin McKenzie spoke on behalf of the North Jefferson County Association of Fire Departments when he said the group was "highly supportive" of the highway's completion.
"It's crucial that we get response times down," he told the meeting's audience. "Getting to emergencies, medical emergencies, and traffic accidents … have become very hard with the increased population," McKenzie explained. "With this Northern Beltline, it will help us cut response times down."
Jon Lord, president of the Jefferson County Association of Fire Departments, also spoke in favor of the Northern Beltline.
"We are very supportive of this because the transport times from one location to another make a huge difference," he said. "Saving lives is a matter of seconds, so certainly 10 minutes will make a huge difference."
McKenzie and Lord's comments were echoed by fellow fire-response professional Jason Howell, who serves as chief of the Palmerdale Fire District.
"This project will very literally save people's lives, probably a large number of lives," he explained. "It will improve response times and help firefighters, law enforcement and emergency medical personnel get to people in need much more quickly."
Howell added that the new freeway "will enable us to get people to [the University of Alabama-Birmingham's] Freestanding ER in Gardendale in 10 minutes instead of 30. Every minute counts in an emergency and can mean the difference between life and death."
Officials Hope Northern Beltline Will Further Growth
Alabama's congressional delegation has secured $519 million in federal funding to complete the Northern Beltline segment to U.S. 31, a crucial part of the overall 52-mi. interstate project. Once finished, the new roadway will stretch from Interstate 59 in northeast Jefferson County to the I-459 interchange near Bessemer, significantly enhancing the region's infrastructure.
More than 40 Birmingham-area municipalities, three counties, and numerous businesses have formally backed the Northern Beltline, underscoring its importance to the area's future.
Janet Kavinoky, chair of the Coalition for Regional Transportation (CRT), said the Northern Beltline will bring growth, jobs and more opportunities to northern Jefferson County just like what I-459 did for the southern end of the county.
Kavinoky's organization is an advocacy group that has built broad support for surface-transportation projects to benefit the Birmingham region since 2008.
In speaking with Alabama Political Reporter in early August, U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-6th District, emphasized the transformative potential of the Beltline, noting its role in preserving the region's quality of life while fostering economic development.
"We have an opportunity to complete our infrastructure in a way that doesn't make us Atlanta or Nashville," he said. "We can maintain the quality of life we have here but still have the economic development that will enrich the lives of everybody in the region.
"This is one of the most important infrastructure projects in the history of the state of Alabama," Palmer added. "It's really going to have an enormously positive impact for years and years to come."
Today's top stories
