Commision approves Highway 69 expansion plan in west Ala. | News

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, AL (WBRC)- There's a push to make a congested highway in west Alabama a little easier to travel. The Tuscaloosa County commission okayed plans to start expansion plans on Highway 69.

Commissioners agreed the county would pay for a study of highway improvements that would be performed by the Alabama Department of Transportation. The work would be done along Highway 69, one of Tuscaloosa's busiest thoroughfares.

During morning and rush hour traffic, it's not unusual for traffic to be bumper to bumper for a mile or two in some sections.

The deals calls for the state highway department to choose an engineering company to complete the study, and Tuscaloosa County will pay for it.

The state has about $200,000 to add a third lane on Highway 69 south of Kauloosa Avenue, as well as adding a lane to I-359.

Those plans were already in the works, but commissioners wanted more done along 69.

This study would determine where adding more lanes and turn lanes along some intersections would speed up traffic to make the biggest impact for drivers.

One commissioner says this study could speed up the start of roadwork.

"It'll push this project up about a year and a half in order to give them the study because it would be late next year before they would have been able to start a study," Commissioner Bobby Miller said.

Earlier this year, the state submitted a list of proposed road projects along 69 south of Moundville. Safety improvements started this April.

The next project wouldn't happen until sometime 2015.

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