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Public hearing expected soon on T'ville intersection Officials at the Grove Hill office of the Alabama Department of Transportation say a public hearing should be held in the next several weeks to present the design for the intersection of Highways 43 and 5 in Thomasville. ALDOT plans to four-lane Highway 43 north to the Marengo County line. Clarke County Commissioners Elma Averett and Rhondel Rhone expressed concern recently that the delay in design for the intersection could halt the possibility of Hampton Inn being built there. Jerry Holt, Eighth Division engineer, and Lou Wallace, preconstruction engineer, were studying a new design for the site on April 10. "I talked to them yesterday in Montgomery about some possible changes to all of this," Holt said. "…We don't know really what is going to happen yet." Funding is one of the biggest holdups for the construction, he said. "They (ALDOT) are going to take another look at all of this." It could take four to five years to establish funding for the project, Holt said. Construction would only take approximately three years, Wallace said. Holt and Wallace said they want to encourage the public to attend the eventual hearing on the 43/5 intersection. Getting the public involved helps promote funding, Holt said. "We have hearings sometimes and there are twice as many state people as are public there," he said. Holt would also like to see more participation in the county Rural Planning Organization meeting at 1:30 p.m. on May 20 at the ALDOT office in Grove Hill. The meeting is open to the public, and residents can express their opinion on what roads in the county need attention. Looking into the future for Highway 43, "there are proposed projects that go from Thomasville on up through Demopolis and even with a proposed planned bypass for Demopolis," Holt said. "It will be a number of years for that to come." The new ThyssenKrupp steel plant has helped promote interest in Highway 43 projects. "Anytime you get industry that comes in like that, it puts emphasis on the roads in the area. The industry is going to follow the roads. "The Black Belt area and Southwest Alabama has been neglected for a long time," Holt said. "…There are some improvements proposed on 43. There is talk of adding another lane from the Interstate on up to McIntosh for the TK traffic. We're anticipating over the years to come that there is going to be an increase in traffic - even on up into this area. "…It takes an average of seven years from the time that the scope of a project is decided until you actually see construction."
Another concern is that the federal funding for the $244.1 billion SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) strategic highway bill will soon run out, Holt said.
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