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
Trump announces ‘major combat operations’ in Iran
Israel and the U.S. have launched strikes against Iran, with explosions reported in Tehran and air raid sirens sounding across Israel.
Trump says he is ‘not happy’ with the Iran nuclear talks but indicates he’ll give them more time
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he's "not happy" with the latest talks over Iran's nuclear program but indicated he would give negotiators more time to reach a deal to avert another war in the Middle East.
Bill Clinton says he ‘did nothing wrong’ with Epstein as he faced grilling over their relationship
Former President Bill Clinton told members of Congress on Friday that he "did nothing wrong" in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and saw no signs of Epstein's sexual abuse as he faced hours of grilling from lawmakers over his connections to the disgraced financier from more than two decades ago.
Pentagon puts Scouts ‘on notice’ over DEI and girl-centered policies
After threatening to sever ties with the organization formerly known as the Boy Scouts, Defense Secretary Hegseth announced a 6-month reprieve
President Trump bans Anthropic from use in government systems
Trump called the AI lab a "RADICAL LEFT, WOKE COMPANY" in a social media post. The Pentagon also ordered all military contractors to stop doing business with Anthropic.
HUD proposes time limits and work requirements for rental aid
The rule would allow housing agencies and landlords to impose such requirements "to encourage self-sufficiency." Critics say most who can work already do, but their wages are low.
