Addressing the 70th annual North Alabama Economic Development Conference on Wednesday morning, John Cooper said the project will three-lane I-565 in both directions from County Line Road to the I-65 interchange. He said the project should cost $15 million to $20 million. ALDOT spokesman Seth Burkett said the distance is about 6 miles.

“Interstate 565 work will basically be a paving and striping project,” Cooper said.

He said ALDOT owns the right of way and there’s plenty of land to work with. “There’s no reason it can’t get done next paving season, basically from March to October.”

In another project related to Mazda Toyota and I-565, a contractor this week closed the existing on-ramp from Greenbrier Road to I-565 eastbound at Exit 3.

The closure will accommodate milling, paving and other work to complete the new on-ramp. The new on-ramp is expected to open by late Saturday.

The new off-ramp from I-565 eastbound to Greenbrier Road is expected to open later this year, and the project is expected to be completed in spring 2020.

A third road project also involves southeast Limestone County. Cooper said work on the Tanner interchange that includes the Huntsville Brownsferry Road widening project north of I-565 is in the first-year plan of the Rebuild Alabama Act that uses money from the gas tax increase. He considered the Tanner project an economic development road that helps divert some trucks and traffic traveling to and from the Mazda Toyota plant off I-565. He didn’t give a projected finishing date.

Cooper said he expects the usual complaints from motorists traveling through construction zones.

“There’s no progress without orange barrels,” he said. “I know people get tired of them, but we’ve made some progress.”

From The Decatur Daily