Restore Our Roads Completes First Project at U.S. Highway 72 East
Published on March 16, 2016
Mayor Tommy Battle joined the North Region Engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation for a celebratory ribbon cutting today on the newly completed stretch of U.S. Highway 72 East at Moores Mill Road.
The $9 million road improvement project is one of six major road projects scheduled for completion under the City’s $250 million cost-sharing “Restore Our Roads” agreement with Governor Robert Bentley and ALDOT. Roadwork began in fall 2014 and was completed well ahead of schedule this year.
“This project would not have been possible without our partnership with ALDOT,” said Mayor Battle. “Huntsville has made the commitment to pay half of the cost for critical roads that move traffic. This stretch of U.S. 72 represents a key corridor for our daily commuters as they enter and exit I-565.”
Work on U.S. Highway 72 East included an additional westbound lane from Shields Road to Maysville Road as well as a third left turn lane on U.S. 72 eastbound at Moore’s Mill Road. The project also included new lighting, median improvements, signage and signals.
The road work improves traffic flow on U.S. Highway 72 during peak commute hours and helps alleviate congestion on Moores Mill as drivers travel from Winchester and Mt. Carmel into the City.
“Through the partnership agreement between the Alabama Department of Transportation and the City of Huntsville, local funds assist ALDOT in projects such as this to improve infrastructure for the benefit of the citizens of Huntsville and the surrounding area,” said Johnny Harris, North Region Engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation. “By increasing capacity and improving intersection functionality, the additional lane on U.S. 72 westbound, lengthened turn lanes for Shields Road, and the additional left turn lane for Moore’s Mill Road from eastbound U.S. 72 will aid commuters as well as commercial and industrial developments along this corridor. ALDOT greatly appreciates the city’s cooperation and assistance with expediting this project.”
Additional Restore Our Roads projects under way include the South Parkway Overpass, Mastin Lake Overpass, Cecil Ashburn improvements, Martin Luther King extension – Northern Bypass, and improvements to University Drive (Highway 72 West).
