I-10, 231 Toll road projects ‘in holding pattern’

The business plan is simple, according to Focus 2000 president Steve Shaw.

First, tie in southbound traffic from Montgomery’s two interstates by constructing a southern toll loop from I-85 to I-65. Next, collect southbound traffic from U.S. Highways 231 and 431 by constructing a limited access road from Midland City to Interstate 10 in Florida. Later, connect the portions north to
Montgomery and south to Panama City, creating an Interstate that will funnel millions of people south to panhandle beaches, millions of tons of cargo north after being shipped in to the Port of Panama City, and put the Wiregrass in position for economic expansion for the rest of the century.

But if the business plan is simple, the logistics behind making it happen are extremely complicated. Plans to build a limited access road connecting the Wiregrass to I-10 have been discussed for decades. Recently, however, the chances of the road finally becoming a reality took a giant leap forward when a group of private citizens proposed a toll road concept, gaining local authority to build the road with private funds.

Currently, organizers say the project is in a “holding pattern” while the state of Alabama looks at the project. But Shaw, whose group is trying to put all the puzzle pieces together, believes the project will still happen.

When, is anybody’s guess.

“If (the Wiregrass) is ever going to compete, if it’s ever going to expand, you’ve got to have a limited access road,” Shaw said on Tuesday during a speech to the Dothan Kiwanis Club.

Shaw said the project makes sense to investors who would buy bonds to fund the construction of the road. The bonds would be paid for by tolls collected. He said the traffic generated by travelers on I-85 and I-65 who wanted to come southbound, as well as the traffic generated by Florida bound traffic on U.S. Highways 231 and 431, would provide for generous toll revenue. And, he said it makes sense to a region effectively left out of economic expansion from major industry.

Shaw said he hopes the first phase of the project — a loop south of Montgomery connecting I-85 and I-65 — could start within a year since land acquisition has already been completed. Once construction starts and enough of the highway has been completed for traffic and tolls, then other parts of the project can begin, including the portion that would begin near Midland City and run south to at least the state line.

“In order to have industry like major distribution centers, things like that, you’ve got to have roads,” Shaw said. “And I don’t mean just secondary roads. I actually don’t call this a road at all, I call it an economic corridor.”