Drivers on Interstate 85 preparing for 3 1/2 year project to add lanes in Montgomery
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – A three and-a-half year project to widen Interstate 85 in Montgomery is now underway, with drivers eager to have the new lanes, even though they’ll have to wait to get them.
Yesterday was the start date, though crews haven’t yet arrived with their orange barrels.
Interstate 85 will be widened from just past the Taylor Road exit (Exit 9) eastward to just past Chantilly Parkway (Exit 11) in both directions. Four interstate bridges will also be replaced in that areas, going over railroad tracks and Chantilly Parkway.
Before the main construction begins, utilities will need to be relocated, which will require rolling roadblocks on the interstate. ALDOT says that will happen early on a Sunday morning and an announcement will be made beforehand.
Action 8 News asked drivers how they feel about the construction.
“It’s kind of tough, so anything that would make it easier is better and anything good, it’s going take a long time, but it’s definitely gonna be worth it,” Linda Stinnett said.
“They’re tearing up a main highway. I don’t see people making it to work on time, getting home on time to feed their family, their children, maybe even bus delays getting back-and-forth to school the bus routes that go this way. People are going to have to wake up earlier than what they expect, and there are people that are going to be upset with it because they ain’t going to get paid for getting up extra early,” Matthew Carlson told us.
“Three years seems like a long time, but if you ever done construction projects that big, it takes time, and they’ll probably do it in steps, so it’ll just be area after area after area and so people would just have to plan a little bit ahead,” Thomas Fritz said.
ALDOT says lane closures will be limited to evening hours on Sundays through Thursdays, 7PM to 5AM. The public will be notified ahead of time of any planned exceptions.
Drivers can travel underneath the I-85 bridges throughout most of the project. Future bridge replacement activities will require temporary weekend closures of Chantilly Parkway. ALDOT says it will provide advance notice to the public before any closures take effect.
The approximately $71 million project was awarded to APAC-Alabama, Inc., of Birmingham.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the project and to receive updates.
