In The News
Memphis to Birmingham I-22 now open
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley joined other state and local officials June 20 in Birmingham to mark the completion of the final section of Interstate 22, a 213-mile highway linking that city with Memphis, Tenn., along the U.S. 78 corridor.
Bentley and the others cut a ribbon for the I-22 Interchange at I-65, which completed a 98-mile segment in Alabama on what was called "Corridor X" until it was given the I-22 designation in 2004.
The announcement said the Alabama Department of Transportation "has worked on the final phase of the connector since 1984, building through some of the roughest terrain in the state."
In Alabama, I-22 runs from the Mississippi state line through Marion, Walker and Jefferson counties to I-65 just north of downtown Birmingham. Just in Alabama, the I-22 segment includes 15 bridges and 14 ramps and cost slightly more than $1 billion to build, the announcement said.
The final Alabama project, connecting I-22 to I-65, began in 2010 at a cost of $168 million, AL.com reported.
"This road provides a major traveling route through some rural areas of Alabama that until now have not had a major interstate within miles," Bentley said. "One of the great benefits of this project is the economic development opportunities it will provide to some of these rural areas, particularly those in Marion and Walker counties and parts of Jefferson County that have been previously inaccessible to major industries."
The Corridor X project evolved through decades of discussion, planning and construction.
The route was originally included in interstate and defense highway plans during the 1930s, the announcement said. Interest in the project was revived in 1965, and Congress approved it in 1978 in the Appalachian Development Highway Program and construction began in 1984.
"Although this project has taken many years to get to this point, I am proud of all the hard work from the dedicated Department of Transportation staff and the local, state and federal partners that have made today possible," Bentley said.
The Trucker staff can be reached to comment on this article at [email protected].