A petition and a lawsuit are so far the tactics used by local advocates to oppose a plan by the Alabama Department of Transportation to widen an interstate that runs through the heart of Birmingham.
Sarah Kuper reports on pushback to a plan by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) "to reconfigure and widen" Interstate 20/59 through Downtown Birmingham. The proposal has met stiff resistance from a local non-profit, which argues that " the plan will have long-term, detrimental effects on the city."
The plan would widen stretches of the interstate from six lanes to ten lanes and upgrade on- and off-ramps. The initial plans have been in circulation since 2013, reports Kuper, inspiring a local opposition group called Move I-20/59 to file a lawsuit against ALDOT, "contending it had not adequately considered environmental issues and asking that it consider economic issues as well." According to Kuper, "On Jan. 19, the Federal Highway Administration and ALDOT responded by denying all claims."
The article focuses mostly on the advocacy of Darrell O’Quinn, the advocate leading Move I-20/59, who lays out several arguments against the highway-widening project.
FULL STORY: I-20/59 Expansion Under Fire: Birmingham Business Community Keeps Pushing Against ALDOT Plans
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