There has been a bit of news over the past several months leaking out of the Wiregrass suggesting that work might finally be moving ahead to get Dothan’s I-10 connector built.
However, judging by this article from the Birmingham News (which I apologize for not mentioning earlier), a few folks have grander plans:
Developers and Wiregrass economic development groups want to build the state’s first toll road that would connect central Alabama to the Florida Panhandle.
Transportation officials and Gov. Bob Riley have had several meetings with the developers proposing a public-private road that could ultimately run from Montgomery to Panama City. [...]
There are no estimates of the cost to build the road, but transportation officials estimate it would be in the billions of dollars.
If the toll road is built, it would replace a connector road proposed by ALDOT from Midland City to I-10.
Having lived in southeast Alabama for a few years, and with my wife’s family tied to the area, I am very familiar with US 231 southeast from Montgomery. There was a time that I could quite literally drive it in my sleep.
While Dothan probably does need better access to I-10 to bolster its local economy and to aid local traffic flow, I do wonder if upgrading US 231 is overkill. True, it’s not an expressway and traffic can get bogged down in the traffic lights at Troy and Ozark, but it’s a fine road well-suited to its traffic flow.
But getting approval for tolls to accelerate construction of Dothan’s I-10 connector…that would be something for folks in the Wiregrass to get excited about.