A innovative approach to I-20/59 could thrust downtown Birmingham past other revitalizing cities, but the state has been reluctant to think outside the box.
"As the city of Birmingham remembers the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement, the state of Alabama is in the midst of reenacting the 1960s with two antiquated engineering projects," writes Wesley Vaughan. "Successful communities preserve rural areas and maximize urban areas. Yet, the Alabama Department of Transportation is intent on ruining both."
"The $4.7 billion Northern Beltline project will create more resource-inefficient sprawl, and the $340 million I-20/59 bridge replacement project would further the damage done by a downtown-dividing interstate."
"Both projects will diminish the city of Birmingham's standing in the region, but the I-20/59 project will directly affect its urban makeup."
FULL STORY: The downtown I-20/59 project deserves state interest
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