Interstate 22 Interchange Opens Completing Link to Memphis
State leaders, along with officials from Washington D.C. and around Jefferson County, cut the ribbon Monday on the interchange between Interstate 22 and Interstate 65, completing a long-awaited highway between Birmingham and Memphis.
“The potential market has now expanded and vast new opportunities are now before us,” says Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens.
Proposals for a limited-access highway between those two cities go back to the 1930s and was known as Corridor X. Construction on the Alabama portion of I-22 began in 1984. It cost more than a billion dollars with the final interchange costing $158 million. Economic development officials say the completed interstate will be a key tool to recruit and grow businesses.
“I know it’s been a long time in the making,” says Alabama Congressman Robert Aderholt. “I think you’re going to see the dividends for jobs in northwest Alabama.”
Lessie Dingler,WBHM
Governor Robert Bentley is surrounded by political and economic development leaders as he cuts the ribbon on the interchange between Interstate 22 and Interstate 65.
The finished highway is also a welcomed change for residents.
“This is the first time that I’ve ever been so excited about the opening of a road,” says Ellen Brake, who lives with her husband Benny near the highway northwest of Birmingham. They say it’ll make for easier travel to the city for the doctor or other appointments.
“It makes the area we live in less isolated,” says Benny Brake.
The interchange was originally supposed to open in October 2014. Contractor Archer Western was fined $2,000 a day for the delay.
With reporting from WBHM intern La’Nissi Brown
Populist billionaire Andrej Babiš wins Czech parliamentary election
His political comeback put the country on a course away from supporting Ukraine and toward Hungary and Slovakia, which have taken a pro-Russian path.
Time is short for an ACA premium fix in the shutdown fight, says GOP insurance leader
After warning Congress for months about premium spikes, the leader of the country's insurance commissioners — a Republican from North Dakota — says he's hopeful there could be a last minute fix.
Opinion: Jane Goodall helped humans understand their place in the world
Jane Goodall, the influential primatologist and conservationist, died this week at the age of 91. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on her legacy and love for chimpanzees.
Here’s how the fashion industry is using AI to predict the next big trend
Once the province of elite fashion editors and forecasters, the art of figuring out what's likely to fly off future racks is getting an assist from AI algorithms.
‘The Lost Bus’ brings you on board for a terrifying wildfire evacuation
Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera star in the true story of a bus driver and a schoolteacher who bring a bus full of children to safety during California's devastating 2018 Camp Fire.
As U.S. pressure mounts, Venezuela’s foreign ‘hostages’ face growing uncertainty
Dozens of foreign nationals are locked up in Venezuelan prisons, accused of crimes they may not have committed. As the U.S. ramps up pressure on Caracas, families fear for their loved ones stuck there.
