Roadscapes Wednesday: I-759 Needs To Be Extended

By Nathan Young on February 18, 2015

Gadsden has a wonderful interstate spur called I-759. It runs from I-59 to the Coosa River and just dead ends. The result? George Wallace Blvd. or AL-291 is filled with a lot of backed up traffic. And Meighan Blvd. in Gadsden which carries US 431 and US 278 experiences major traffic backups, especially around the Wal-Mart area. I profiled I-759 in a Roadscapes video I did a while back, and you wonder why it has not been extended yet?

Now, the city of Gadsden and their city council is putting pressure on government leaders to do something about extending I-759! The city council along with Rep. Craig Ford is wanting to set up a meeting with Governor Bentley, Rep. Robert Aderholt, the Gadsden city council, and other area government leaders to get the ball rolling on extending I-759. The reason the extension has not happened yet, the area the road would be extended has been deemed as historic by the Federal Highway Administration. The project would see over 20 homes demolished to make way for the road that were built in the 1920’s. I mean come on, traffic is getting worse and nothing can be done because an area is historic?

In January 2014, the Alabama Department of Transportation officials recommended a no-build option for the project because a route could not be approved and because of the $100 million dollar price tag. I think it’s about time for our government leaders to quit doing nothing and start doing something! The I-759 extension is needed now! People are getting tired of sitting in long traffic jams on Meighan Blvd. or cutting through neighborhoods to avoid the traffic problems. If Gadsden is going to grow and get bigger, this road needs to be built and should have been built years ago!