This report was from a trip I took to Tuscaloosa, AL and back on May 19, 2007.
A few belated notes from a daytrip I took on 5/19:
- On the west side of Tuscaloosa, north of the toll bridge across the Black
Warrior River, an extension to the Black Warrior Parkway has been built. It
splits off the old parkway (now named Industrial Park Dr) a little north of the
river, then veers northwest then north, meeting US 82 a little west of Flatwoods
Rd/CR 86. North of US 82, the road ties into what is shown on the 2007 MSS&T as
"Rose Blvd", and street signs in this area label the new road as Rose Blvd.
Eventually, the new road curves northeast and ties into US 43 at the CR 56/Mitt
Lary Rd intersection on the north side of Northport. The road is mostly 4-lanes
undivided with turn lanes at most public intersections, and except right near US
43 and US 82 appeared to lack private driveways (not that there's a lot of
development along the road now anyway).
- US 43 has recently been widened to 5 lanes from just south of CR 56/Mitt Lary
Rd to near CR 62. A widening project is underway from there south to US 82.
- ALDOT has a few VMS signs now installed in the US 82 median at various points
between AL 69 and I-20/59. Most of them are for eastbound traffic, though
there's one south of the river for westbound traffic.
- The first phase of the long-planned Black Warrior Loop freeway has been
completed, but sits rather isolated. Right now it consists of a 4-lane bridge
over the Black Warrior River, a couple miles east of the US 82 span. The bridge
is marked as AL 297 (as presumably the rest of the Loop will be when/if built)
and only connects between Rice Mine Rd north of the river and Jack Warner Pkwy
south of the river. The north end is a standard T-intersection, while the south
end follows the eventual interchange ramps with a little bit of a ghost grade
extending beyond the ramps. A rather large (albeit one-story) office building
sits squarely in the way of westward expansion beyond Rice Mine Rd.
- US 43 makes two turns in downtown Demopolis.
- On southbound US 43 on the approach to the western junction with US 80 is a
set of old overhead guide signs that have button-copy shields.
- West of Demopolis along US 80 are two projects involving an extension of the
4-lane along US 80. From just east of the Tenn-Tom to where AL 28 North splits
off, grading and bridges appear complete and it's just waiting for a paving
project. On this section the new lanes will be the future westbound lanes. West
of AL 28 to Bellamy, grading and bridgework are underway, and the new roadway
switches about halfway from being the future westbound lanes to being the future
eastbound lanes.
- Earthmoving is well underway for the US 84 widening east of Waynesboro,
beginning about 1/2 mile west of the state line. There are several segments
where the 4-lanes will be on all new alignment.
- On southbound US 45 approaching State Line, only the 1/2 mile advance guide
sign includes shields for MS 57 and "TO MS 42". There's also inconsistency in
the control cities. All three (1 mile advance, 1/2 mile advance, and exit sign)
have Hattiesburg, but the 1 mile sign has Mississippi Gulf Coast, the 1/2 mile
sign has State Line, and the exit sign simply has Gulf Coast.
- At the US 45/MS 42 junction, MS 42 is now briefly duplexed with US 45, having
been rerouted onto US 45 then onto a reconstructed St. Peter St (which has an
interchange with the new MS 57). There is still a lingering WEST MS 42
reassurance shield west of the intersection however. There are now actual MS 42
trailblazers and reassurance shields for MS 42 east of US 45 to the state
line...previously this was unsigned. These shields are co-signed with "TO AL 56"
shields. There's also a "4-Lane Now Open" sign on MS 42 just before the US 45
junction. The 4-lane section on US 45 extends through the MS 42 East
intersection and tapers back to 2 lanes just south of it.
- As with on southbound US 45 (described above), the southbound MS 57 exit
signage to MS 42 lacks a MS 42 shield, although the 1/2 mile advance guide sign
has one as does the northbound signage.
- With the opening of the State Line bypass, the 4-lane section on MS 57
beginning at US 45 extends to about 9 miles south of State Line.
- From what I understand, the paving project for the rest of the MS 57/63
4-laning down to Lucedale will be let sometime this year...grading and bridges
for it are now complete.
- Lastly, this marked my first trip across the new US 90 Bay St Louis
bridge...the bridge having just been opened to 2 lanes a couple days previously.
The two lanes that are open are the future eastbound lanes....the parallel bike/ped
path is still under construction and not open, and there's still a significant
section of bridgedeck to be poured for the westbound side. The bridge speed
limit is 35 MPH, though most traffic was going at least 40. The 2-lane segment
extends from 4th Ave, just east of the CSX bridge (and the former turnoff to the
temporary ferry that was in operation) west across the new bridge to 2nd St in
Bay St. Louis. The intersection with Beach Blvd in Bay St. Louis, though
striped, is closed, with Beach Blvd traffic redirected to the 2nd St
intersection via the frontage roads.
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(C) 2007, Adam Froehlig