For whom the road tolls

The possibility of a new distribution center and its 500-plus jobs appeared tantalizingly close to Ozark Mayor Bob Bunting not too long ago.

An industry executive was making his third visit to the Dale County town. Bunting had been enjoying a promising conversation with the man until he said something that made the mayor shiver.

“I remember him telling me he wanted to see how long it took him to get to Interstate 10,” Bunting recalled. “He called me 30 minutes later, stuck in traffic on the Circle in Dothan. He told me we had been eliminated as a potential site.”

Bunting is one of several people hoping to help facilitate the construction of a limited access toll road connecting the Wiregrass to I-10, and eventually connecting Montgomery to the Florida Gulf Coast.

For Bunting and others involved in recruiting companies in Alabama and around the Southeast, trying to recruit a major industry without highway access is like trying to land a trophy bass without any bait.

“As we try to recruit industry, the first question we always get asked is ‘Do you have a limited access highway?’ ” Dothan Mayor Pat Thomas said.

“After we tell them no, half the time, we never get to Question 2,” Thomas added.

Industry surveys indicate access to an interstate or similar highway is typically the No. 1 factor cited by companies looking to build a new plant. The recent explosion of automobile manufacturers and suppliers in Alabama reveal the importance of highway access. Almost all of the plants and suppliers have located along Interstate 20/59 — the state’s major east-west highway — and Interstate 65, the state’s major north/south highway.

And while industries continue to be attracted to Alabama because of its incentive packages and low cost of living, there is little indication they will venture too far from the interstates.

Process of elimination

Increased technology is making it more difficult for towns like Ozark and Dothan to compete for major industry. Tim Weston, field operations manager for Tennessee Valley Authority Economic Development, said companies are often using computer software to locate or eliminate potential new sites.

“One of the factors they may decide to put in (the computer program) is highway access. If they do, then places that don’t meet that criteria are automatically stricken from the list,” said Weston, who is involved in economic development in a seven-state area in the Southeast, including Alabama. “The way it used to be, consultants would call the state development office, or a regional economic development official and talk about locations. That isn’t happening as much as it once did.”

That means places off the major highways don’t get a chance to meet face-to-face with company executives as often as they once did. Face-to-face meetings give executives an opportunity to see the area first-hand, and give city officials a greater opportunity to sell community strengths.

Weston also said many suppliers and manufacturers are adopting a “zero inventory” work process which means some suppliers are no longer keeping their products on site, and are transporting them to the manufacturer as quickly as possible. Manufacturers are then sending their products to distributors as quickly as possible, making access to interstates or similar highways even more important.

Matt Parker, president of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, said a recent study of automotive suppliers to the Mercedes and Honda plants in Alabama revealed suppliers were located an average of 3.2 miles from an interstate, and the average distance to the manufacturer was 20 miles.

“The bottom line for companies is that it boils down to logistics, efficiencies and money,” Parker said.

Exceptions exist

Not all major industries are located near an Interstate. Brundidge landed a large Wal-Mart distribution center in 2004 that employees about 950. One of Houston County’s largest employers is McLane Distribution, which employs around 800.

One of the largest companies to locate in an area in Alabama without interstate access is the National Alabama Corporation Railcar Plant at Barton Industrial Park near Florence. The plant employs 1,800 and the closest Interstate is I-65, about 40 miles away.

Forrest Wright, executive director of the Shoals Economic Development Authority, said the park’s proximity to rail service and the Tennessee River made it attractive for transporting heavy freight. Wright said another major employer, SCA Tissue (430 employees) also chose to locate at the park near the river.

The railcar plant was helped along by half-cent sales tax increases passed in Lauderdale and Colbert counties. The area also formed a partnership with the Retirement Systems of Alabama, which loaned the full $350 million construction investment for the plant, according to Site Selection Magazine.

Dothan’s Thomas and Parker said the area is always seeking strategic partnerships to help with industry recruitment. And, as long as there is no limited access highway nearby, they said they will continue to pursue industry that does not rely on interstate access.

Although Wright said he is ecstatic the Florence area was able to land the two industries, he said a major highway remains atop his wish list.

“The potential for the projects you will see increase dramatically when those folks see that red, white and blue road sign,” Wright said.

Plugging Away

Alabama counties have signed off on a public/private partnership with Focus 2000, a group of citizens who hope to see through the construction of a limited access toll road connecting the Wiregrass — and eventually Montgomery — to the Florida Gulf Coast. The idea was launched after repeated failures to jumpstart the construction of an interstate spur from the Wiregrass to I-10 with federal dollars.

But one Florida county has voted against entering into the partnership. The Washington County Commission recently voted 3-2 to say no to the toll road, citing too many unanswered questions about routes, possible road closures, the number of interchanges guaranteed for the county and the possible use of eminent domain.

Washington County was believed to provide the straightest route from the Wiregrass to a brand new international airport near Panama City, and the Port of Panama City on the Gulf. Now, organizers are pinning their hopes on Jackson County. A public meeting held recently in the Jackson County town of Cottondale drew between 200 and 300 residents concerned about eminent domain, environmental issues and the possibility of a limited access road drying up merchants in towns along the route. A committee has been appointed to study the concerns.
And, some in Dothan are also concerned a limited access highway would have an adverse affect on local businesses and sales tax dollars.

No one can guarantee some businesses won’t be adversely affected by a road constructed for the purpose of faster travel.

Bunting acknowledges that, but said interstates are often full of creative, successful ventures.

“I know before they built Interstate 65 everyone was worried about all the fruit stands that would be hurt along 231, but now, how many people stop by Peach Park above Montgomery near Clanton? They’ve used their property to become entrepreneurs. I can see the same thing happening in Jackson County and other places.”

Weston said his experience has been that community leaders are almost as important as community resources in landing industry.

“One of the things I can tell you is that regardless of limitations, whether it is highways or whatever, consistently over the course of time, communities that have solid, aggressive, progressive leadership find a way to continue to thrive in bad times or good times,” Weston said.