The West Alabama Highway will add lanes to U.S. Highway 43 and State Route 69 to provide a four-lane divided highway from Thomasville to Moundville, a distance of more than 80 miles. This will complete a four-lane highway corridor of roughly 200 miles connecting Mobile and Tuscaloosa.
For decades, residents, business leaders and public officials have called for construction of the West Alabama Highway as a way to ease travel, improve safety and increase economic opportunities for people in rural West Alabama.
“For nearly 75 years, there have been promises to extend state and federal roadways through the Black Belt with no action. In 2019, Governor Kay Ivey and the state legislature finally made good on those past promises to build a four-lane road through the Black Belt with the approval of the Rebuild Alabama Act of 2019…”
– The University of Alabama’s Education Policy Center
The West Alabama Highway will promote economic development, enhance connectivity and accessibility, and improve transportation safety.
The West Alabama Highway will grow our economy: A region’s industrial and employment base is closely tied to the quality of its highways. The West Alabama Highway will provide a more convenient and efficient way to move people and goods. It will also provide the region’s residents and businesses with their first four-lane connection to the Interstate Highway System, a driving factor in attracting new economic opportunities. For existing businesses, the West Alabama Highway will provide greater access to other markets, which helps smaller businesses expand their customer base and increase economic activity.
The West Alabama Highway will improve connections and accessibility for everyone: Another major benefit of the West Alabama Highway will be improved connectivity and accessibility. It will provide a more convenient and faster mode of transportation that connects communities and makes it easier for people to access essential services like health care, education and employment. Imagine having a quicker and easier way to get to work, to school, to the doctor or hospital, or to other areas of the state.
The West Alabama Highway will make our travels safer: The West Alabama Highway will transform a two-lane roadway into a four-lane divided highway. Separating opposing traffic with a divided highway will reduce the number and severity of crashes. One study estimates converting two-lane roadways in rural areas to four-lane divided roadways results in a reduction in fatal and injury crashes by as much as 45%.
The WAH Project will create a four-lane, north-south highway
connecting communities in rural Alabama to the interstate system.
