BELTLINE PATIENCE IS PAYING OFF. YOU鈥橰E HEARING THE SOUND OF NORTH JEFFERSON COUNTY鈥橲 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT ENGINE FINALLY BECOMING A REALITY. WHEN I WAS A KID, I WORKED AROUND A PILE DRIVER ONE SUMMER AND LEARNED TO HATE THAT SOUND. BUT RIGHT NOW, THAT IS A GREAT SOUND I鈥橫 HEARING. FINALLY, WE鈥橰E BACK HERE. WE鈥橰E GOING TO GET THIS FIRST SECTION COMPLETED. COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOE KNIGHT IS TALKING ABOUT THE NORTHERN BELTLINE. LAST MONTH, CREWS BEGAN WORK ON THE FIRST TWO MILE STRETCH BETWEEN HIGHWAY 75 AND 79. THE BYPASS WILL EVENTUALLY CONNECT THROUGH MAYOR STAN HOAGLAND鈥橲 GARDENDALE DOWN THE ROAD. THIS HIGHWAY IS REAL, AND IT鈥橲 SOMETHING THAT鈥橲 GOING TO HAPPEN TODAY, LOCAL AND FEDERAL LEADERS TOOK THE CHANCE TO SHOW OFF THE PROJECT TO THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION. THE BELTLINE REPRESENTS A FIFTH OF THE GROUP鈥橲 FINAL, UNFINISHED HIGHWAY MILES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IF WE DO THIS THE RIGHT WAY, THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE MOST ATTRACTIVE AREAS IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY TO TO BUILD A BUSINESS, BRING A BUSINESS. MOST RECENT ESTIMATES PUT THE TOTAL 52 MILE BYPASS PRICE TAG NORTH OF $5 BILLION, AND ITS IMPACT ON THE STATE鈥橲 ECONOMY EVEN HIGHER. THE NORTHERN BELTLINE HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT FOR DECADES IN FACT, I FIRST COVERED IT 14 YEARS AGO, BUT AFTER MULTIPLE DELAYS LAST YEAR, THE STATE ANNOUNCED THAT IT WAS RECEIVING MORE THAN HALF $1 BILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING TO BUILD THE FIRST TEN MILE STRETCH FROM HIGHWAY 75 ALL THE WAY TO HIGHWAY 31. IN GARDENDALE. FOR SO LONG, IT鈥橲 BEEN SLOW. STOP, SLOW STOP. WE鈥橰E NOT GOING TO STOP AGAIN. WE鈥橰E GOING TO GET IT DONE. THE FIRST TWO MILE SECTION WILL BE OPEN TO DRIVERS BY THE END OF 2026.
'This highway is real': Leaders tour future Northern Beltline site
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Updated: 6:37 PM CDT Aug 8, 2024
The pounding you can hear near Highway 75 just outside of Pinson is the sound of north Jefferson County's future development engine finally becoming a reality. 鈥淲hen I was a kid, I worked around a pile driver one summer, and I learned to hate that sound. But right now, that is a great sound I'm hearing. And finally, we're back here. We're going to get this first section completed,鈥� Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight said.Knight is talking about the Northern Beltline.Last month, crews began work on the first two-mile stretch between Highways 75 and 79. The bypass will eventually connect through Mayor Stan Hogeland's Gardendale down the road.鈥淭his highway is real and is something that is going to happen,鈥� Hogeland said.Thursday, local and federal leaders showed off the project to the Appalachian Regional Commission.The Beltline represents a fifth of the group's final unfinished highway miles across the country.鈥淲e do this the right way, this will be one of the most attractive areas in the entire country to build a business, bring a business,鈥� Congressman Gary Palmer said.Most recent estimates put the total 52-mile bypass price tag north of $5 billion and its impact on the state鈥檚 economy even higher. Work first began on the project about a decade ago, but funding obstacles have forced multiple delays. Then last year, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Alabama was receiving $489 million to build a ten-mile section from Highways 75 and 31.鈥淔or so long, it's been slow. Stop, slow, stop. We're not going to stop again. We're going to get it done,鈥� Knight said.This first two-mile part of the bypass will be open to drivers by the end of 2026.ALDOT is hosting a public meeting to talk about the next phase of the project to Gardendale on Aug. 27 at the Gardendale Civic Center.
PINSON, Ala. — The pounding you can hear near Highway 75 just outside of Pinson is the sound of north Jefferson County's future development engine finally becoming a reality.
鈥淲hen I was a kid, I worked around a pile driver one summer, and I learned to hate that sound. But right now, that is a great sound I'm hearing. And finally, we're back here. We're going to get this first section completed,鈥� Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight said.
Knight is talking about the Northern Beltline.
Last month, crews began work on the first two-mile stretch between Highways 75 and 79.
The bypass will eventually connect through Mayor Stan Hogeland's Gardendale down the road.
鈥淭his highway is real and is something that is going to happen,鈥� Hogeland said.
Thursday, local and federal leaders showed off the project to the Appalachian Regional Commission.
The Beltline represents a fifth of the group's final unfinished highway miles across the country.
鈥淲e do this the right way, this will be one of the most attractive areas in the entire country to build a business, bring a business,鈥� Congressman Gary Palmer said.
Most recent estimates put the total 52-mile bypass price tag north of $5 billion and its impact on the state鈥檚 economy even higher.
Work first began on the project about a decade ago, but funding obstacles have forced multiple delays.
Then last year, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced Alabama was receiving $489 million to build a ten-mile section from Highways 75 and 31.
鈥淔or so long, it's been slow. Stop, slow, stop. We're not going to stop again. We're going to get it done,鈥� Knight said.
This first two-mile part of the bypass will be open to drivers by the end of 2026.
ALDOT is hosting a public meeting to talk about the next phase of the project to Gardendale on Aug. 27 at the Gardendale Civic Center.
