EDITORIALS

Referring to the Tuscaloosa News article, Changes in Bypass Route Requested, printed December 17, 2006:

Tuscaloosa News
January 21, 2007 3:30AM
Editorial:
My Turn: John L. Wathen Officials shouldn't bypass creek

The Eastern Bypass was in the news again last month and people want to know “what will happen to Hurricane Creek?"
While I recognize the need for improvements to infrastructure surrounding Tuscaloosa, I have to argue that the Eastern Bypass is not the answer. New studies have shown that if you can drive from one side of a city to the other in 15 minutes or less on a normal day under normal driving conditions, a bypass is not necessary.
According to the laws governing this type of project, certain studies must be undertaken to assure the cost of the project does not exceed the projected benefits. A “Cumulative Growth Assessment" must be done and an “Environmental Impact Study" (EIS) must be done based on the growth assessment. None of this has been done. I feel that if the bypass must be built, it must be done according to the laws and all care given to assure the taxpayers get the most feasible and cost-effective project possible. There was no cost-benefit analysis to even show the need for the project in the first place.
The Eastern Bypass will cross Hurricane Creek two times with a total of five bridges. One will be an off-ramp onto Alabama Highway 216. Here the entire community of Green Acres will be destroyed. There also will be crossings on many smaller tributaries throughout the entire route to I-59. The cost for these crossings will far exceed the projected figures because of the need to protect these streams.
Any project like this has stipulations in the EIS that state if there are any significant changes or additions of information, a supplemental EIS must be done. There have been rare and endangered plant species pointed out that were not listed because the surveyors only pulled up statistics that said there was a low likelihood that any rare species existed. No one actually walked the corridor and did a survey. We have located 26 abandoned coal-mine entrances, artifacts and carvings that suggest a complete new archaeological survey is needed.
These things are not options afforded to ALDOT, they’re points of law. So far they have refused to address these issues. We’ve been told time and again that to do it right, which would require all of the new studies mentioned, would be too costly. Mr. [Paul] Bowlin, former ALDOT director, stated in public, “Whether the EIS was done right or not, it would cost too much to do it over so we are going with this one." In my opinion, it would be too costly for most of these people living in the corridor to have to give up family lands and relocate. I maintain that it would be significantly less expensive to do it right than have to spend millions on unnecessary residential displacement not to mention litigation and enforcement issues that will surely arise with this project.
One of the changes that demand a new EIS is the approval of the EPA “Total Maximum Daily Load" allocations for Hurricane Creek and many of its tributaries. The TMDL requirements call for a 32 percent decrease in turbidity (mud) in the creek. After the disaster ALDOT made of the Alabama Highway 216 bridge replacement, I see no way it can be accomplished. Every rain event has the potential to bring new enforcement actions for violations and further degradation of Hurricane Creek.
Don Vaughn of ALDOT made the comment that the “M" Bend of Hurricane Creek would be protected. What about the other crossings? The project cuts through Stone Creek, Cottondale Creek and several tributaries, Bee Branch, and two unnamed tributaries. In fact every stream crossing beyond Crescent Ridge Road is a tributary of Hurricane Creek and protected by the TMDL and Hurricane Creekkeeper. We will monitor these crossings vigilantly by canoe, land and using aerial surveillance provided by SouthWings. ALDOT is known as the single largest polluter and violator of best management practices and laws. Nothing I have seen makes me believe the Eastern Bypass will be any different.
ALDOT has made statements to the effect that they have an agreement with Friends of Hurricane Creek. We were told that there were some improvements in the erosion control measures that will be implemented in a meeting where we asked for a few considerations. We asked for some conservative construction techniques, aesthetic design and off-site mitigation of the crossings by way of purchasing a conservation easement along Hurricane Creek. ALDOT said it was worth considering but we never got any commitment or any follow-up on the meeting, nothing on paper so far. As far as I know that was the end of discussion. I do not recall any agreement or stating that we were satisfied with the bypass.
The only movement in the path has been when we pointed out a steep canyon where the first bridge was located. The movement was not “for the Friends of Hurricane Creek" as ALDOT put it. It was simply the only place it would fit. They would have known that if there had been an accurate EIS with real surveys to begin with. There are 26 abandoned underground coal-mine openings that ALDOT claimed not to know about. No complete EIS was done.
All along the officials at ALDOT have been adamant, as has Sen. Richard Shelby’s office and the mayor’s office, that to move the corridor would be too costly. ALDOT maintained that it would cost too much to do a supplemental EIS and everyone would just have to live with it.
A large developer has entered the picture and basically said go around us.
Suddenly, the mayor’s office and Sen. Shelby issued statements asking ALDOT and the governor to move the corridor to accommodate this multimillion dollar project. The rational is that “Tuscaloosa needs the money from the new development." At what cost?
Let’s look at the true costs for the “Eastern Bypass" on the community. From River Road to where the interstate connection will be is, for the most part, an economically distressed area. The mayor and Sen. Shelby suggest that it is better to move the bypass for the sake of “new development" but not to preserve existing neighborhoods. Is it because we are in an area of low income and can’t vote in city elections? Are we not as important as a new development across the river?
I want to remind our elected officials that we are working men and women. We may not be able to donate millions to campaigns but we pay millions in taxes and we count, too. Our homes may not range in the upper six figures but they have been here longer than most of the elected officials in office. Some have been here since Tuscaloosa was just a dirt street, horse and buggy town.
My land does not directly connect to the bypass; I live downstream. If I did, I would refuse to sell. If everyone in the path refused to sell, it would surely send our elected officials a loud message that we must be heard too! Even ALDOT could not get away with condemning this many homes without proving the cost effectiveness. We need a congressional investigation into the whole process by which this project has come about.
The cost to the environment will be devastating. Not only is the “M" Bend area a special place with potential for education and recreation, but Stone Creek, Cottondale Creek and tributaries of Bee Branch are all protected by the TMDL. These tributaries will be problematic in crossing. Most of the Cottondale Creek watershed lies in an “Upper Coastal Plains" region where the soil is very unstable and highly erodible. Each crossing will be extremely costly due to the extreme measures ALDOT will have to undertake in order to comply with the TMDL. The same level of “redundancy" as the engineers called it will have to be used throughout corridor or face the consequences of noncompliance.
From what I have seen of ALDOT projects in the past, I would rather have our county engineers oversee the construction if it occurs. I watched them build a bridge over the County 59 road crossing with no noncompliance issues during the entire project. If Bobby Hagler, James Fuller and the county bridge unit can do it without offsite impacts, using limited money, then why is it that ALDOT with millions to work with and unlimited engineers cannot do it as well?
The cost to our descendants will be too great to tell for some time to come. Will there be a time where our grandchildren can still see a forest without traveling for hours? Will there ever be a time where college students can ride a bicycle to an outdoor class in a living, breathing laboratory like “M" Bend? Medical research, geology, botany, entomology, biology, the possibilities are endless. We must re-think the route and reconsider the true cost.
The Eastern Bypass has, to many, become a symbol of injustice. Why should the considerations for the wealthy be any more important than those of elderly and poor people who are being made to move?
When Walt Maddox ran for mayor I supported him even though I cannot vote in city elections, nor can most of the displaced families. I worked to help get him elected because I believe he will represent everyone equally. I call on him , as well as Sen. Shelby, and our newly appointed House Ways and Means representative, Artur Davis, to do the right thing. I ask you to send letters calling for ALDOT to follow applicable laws and do the required studies to support the need and feasibility of a bypass through this area that adequately protects Tuscaloosa’s crown jewel, Hurricane Creek, and our neighbor’s rights to be treated with honesty and fairness by elected officials.
John L. Wathen of Holt Peterson Road is Hurricane Creekkeeper and a member of Friends of Hurricane Creek. Reach him by e-mail at creekkeeper@peoplepc.com.

Tuscaloosa News
December 19. 2006 3:30AM
Editorial:
Concerns about Hurricane Creek deserve attention

The state Department of Transportation’s willingness to consider moving the proposed route of a Tuscaloosa bypass to accommodate an upscale development is welcome news.

The change would allow work to proceed on Townes of North River, a 500-unit development that otherwise would be in the pathway of the $227 million bypass.

The project, which would be incorporated into the Tuscaloosa city limits, is important to this area. But so is the preservation of Hurricane Creek, part of which also lies on the bypass route.

It’s important enough, in fact, to warrant the same consideration for Hurricane Creek as for Townes of North River.

Until now, any change in the plans for the bypass, which would connect Interstate 20/59 with U.S. Highway 82, seemed unlikely. Last year, DOT officials said there was no reason to think that it was possible to re-route the highway project for the NorthRiver development.

But Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., have asked Gov. Bob Riley to approve a route change, and the DOT now is said to be amenable to the plans.

There is little doubt that the residential development, which already is under way, will benefit this area. Homes in the $250,000 to $750,000 range are being built at the 162-acre site east of Munny Sokol Park and a half-mile north of the Rice Mine Road-New Watermelon Road intersection. Annexation would provide a significant new tax base for Tuscaloosa.

The “M" Bend of Hurricane Creek is important in a different way.

It is an environmentally sensitive area with tall sandstone cliffs that is honeycombed with caves and has abundant and diverse plant life. Gorgeous wildflowers cover the area in the spring.

The Friends of Hurricane Creek, the West Alabama Sierra Club and other organizations and individuals say traffic from the original bypass route would create trash and noise pollution. Construction work will cause siltation of the creek, resulting in loss of habitat for wildlife, they said. And they decried possible destruction of the sandstone cliffs.

They asked state officials to move the bypass corridor 1,500 to 1,800 feet northeast to avoid damaging the M Bend. DOT officials moved the route slightly but not by the distance that the environmentalists had hoped for.

Apparently, the DOT considers any more changes to accommodate Hurricane Creek out of the question. Additional rerouting would drive up costs, cause more residential disruption and delay right-of-way acquisition. In the end, it may not be feasible for the state to do more to preserve the integrity of the area. But it should be considered.

Anna Keene, coordinator for the federally funded AmeriCorps VISTA Watershed, reminded officials that preserving natural areas like Hurricane Creek has an economic benefit. Green spaces attract both commercial and residential developers.

It would be nice to see Maddox and Shelby recognize that fact by pressing Riley to consider the concerns about the impact of the route on Hurricane Creek as well as the upscale housing development.

Tuscaloosa News
December 21. 2006 3:30AM
Editorial:
Money driving bypass considerations
By: John Wathen
Tuscaloosa
Dear Editor: It has always been my opinion that fat-cats with money mean more average people living in no-mans land. The story “Changes in bypass ..." proves that once again.

The city has never voluntarily lifted a finger to help Hurricane Creek, Holt or any issue not concerning money or votes. We in Holt have neither to speak of. We went to the city council “while Maddox served" and were told, “Nothing we can do, contact DOT." Same response from Shelby’s office. DOT had been solid as rock stating the bypass can’t be moved -- until money entered the picture.

“We asked for the state to look at the long-term picture of where we’re trying to grow residentially and commercially," Maddox said.

We ask the state to look at the same picture that has been growing naturally for centuries!

Vaughn said rerouting will cost millions in state and federal taxpayers’ money mainly because delays result in higher acquisition and construction costs. If DOT had submitted a truthful environmental study we would not be here now. That document reads like a Sunday funny paper!

Officials argue that there would be less residential displacement. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The entire community of Green Acres will be destroyed and residents forced to relocate.

“It’s possible it could be redone," said William Adams “It’s not desirable," referring to the EIS process, “which will get everyone involved to be heard." This statement sounds like they do not want everyone heard, only those with money.

Tuscaloosa News
December 20. 2006 3:30AM
Editorial:
We must protect Hurricane Creek
BY: Larry Pierson
Northport
Dear Editor: Surely Hurricane Creek is as important as a housing development! I read with great interest that consideration was being given by the state Department of Transportation to adjust the eastern bypass route to accommodate an upscale housing development. Personally I am not opposed to this adjustment. But I would hope that the state Department of Transportation would also be amenable to making other adjustments.

Specifically the M-bends on the Hurricane Creek section need to be adjusted to prevent this four-lane roadway from harming the physical and aesthetic qualities of this waterway.

As a lifelong resident of this area, Hurricane Creek means a great deal to me. I learned to swim in this creek, and, if I’m ever baptized, I plan for it to be in this creek. Anything that we can do to protect this creek we should do. I would urge Gov. Riley and the state DOT to also adjust this section of the bypass corridor to protect Hurricane Creek.