DEVELOPMENT and SMART GROWTH

EASTERN BYPASS

The eastern bypass that is being built around Tuscaloosa and Northport is slated to cross Hurricane Creek in a very sensitive area: the “M Bend”. This area is known for its tall sandstone cliffs and abundant and diverse plant life. In the spring the area is covered in blooming wildflowers. In the fall, the many different kinds of trees turn the area into a kaliedescope of fall colors. Residents have enjoyed this area for several hundred years. They retreat to Hurricane Creek to recreate: to swim, canoe, hike, and relax. As the Tuscaloosa area grows, greenspaces such as the M Bend will become increasingly important as people seek to escape from everyday city life.

The eastern bypass will impact this area of Hurricane Creek in several ways. It will add road noise to an area of Hurricane Creek where currently there is none. The traffic on the bridges have a high potential of adding trash to the creek. The construction of the bypass will cause silt to enter the creek, despite the best of management practices. Silt smothers critters living in the water and the subsequent sedimentation causes loss of habitat for other water-dwelling critters. Blasting of the beautiful sandstone cliffs will be required for construction of the bypass. Many rare plants will be lost by the placement of the bypass. Animals will be displaced and may lose their lives trying to cross the bypass when it becomes part of their neighborhood.

The Friends of Hurricane Creek along with the West Alabama Sierra Club and other concerned organizations and individuals have formed the Hurricane Creek Task Force to address the problem of the eastern bypass’s route. The Hurricane Creek Task Force has worked for several years to bring attention to this issue. The Task Force has coordinated meetings between the Department of Transportation (DOT) and citizens to discuss their concerns about the bypass route. The Task Force has also organized rallies at DOT public hearings.

Most recently, the Task Force has met with Joe McInnes, newly appointed Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation. Mr. McInnes was more receptive to hearing what we had to say than the previous DOT director. Mr. McInnes suggested ways that the DOT and the Task Force could work together to preserve the M Bend, such as the DOT purchasing land to create a park and working with Senator Shelby to find more money to look into moving the bypass. He also listened to some of our ideas, such as incorporating wildlife passageways into the design as well as arch bridges which would protect the creek banks by pushing the pilings further away from the creek itsself.

Wildlife passageways are large tunnels with dirt floors. Animals can use them to go under the highway without being killed. When they build the bridges over the creek, a dirt path through riprap or large rocks placed under the bridge will allow deer and other animals to still be able to travel up and down the creek.

If you are interested in learning more about the current path of the eastern bypass, you can visit the 5th Division Headquarters of the DOT, located on Skyland Boulevard. in Tuscaloosa, next to the state trooper headquarters. Call 553-7030 for hours and directions.

If you would like to support moving the bypass, incorporating wildlife passageways into the bypass design, or using arch bridges, please contact the following:

Willis G. Reynolds, Environmental Coordinator
Alabama Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 70700
Tuscaloosa, AL 35407
(205)554-3257 or (800)822-6124
(205)556-0900 fax

David Turner
Burk-Kleinpeter
600 Lurleen Wallace Blvd.
Suite 180
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
(205)759-3221

Joe McInnes, Director
Alabama Department of Transportation
1401 Coliseum Blvd.
Montgomery, AL

"You could not step twice into the same rivers; for other waters are ever flowing on to you." -- Heraclitus of Ephesus

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