To: Governor Kay Ivey
Governor Bentley: Stop the Northern Beltline
"Governor Bentley: We, the Citizens of Alabama, do not want billions of our federal taxpayer dollars spent on a speculative venture such as Birmingham’s proposed Northern Beltline. Please use our federal transportation dollars on projects that address meaningful traffic, safety, and maintenance needs in Alabama rather than on a highway which may never be used. Please Stop Birmingham’s Northern Beltline."
Why is this important?
Billions of our State’s precious transportation dollars are at stake for the next 30-40 years if Governor Bentley allows ALDOT to start the proposed Northern Beltline around Birmingham – a bypass that will extend 52 miles out into rural Jefferson County West and northeast of Birmingham. This completely unnecessary highway will cost $5.445 billion in federal taxpayer money; relieve no more than 1 to 3 percent of traffic; take almost 4 decades to build; not have a payoff until 2048; and cause users – if there are any – to make a costly 52-mile detour around the city. Proponents admit it is being built for developmental purposes only. Most people know there are cheaper ways to create jobs than at a cost of $104.7 million per MILE. Alabama’s transportation priority should be the backlog of state roads & bridges that need repairs NOW – not a risky development project that may never pay off. Most alarming, the Federal Highway Administration is now running a deficit, and limited federal funds for this road are guaranteed ONLY through 2014. The result of starting Birmingham's Northern Beltline could be a colossal mis-step for Alabama.