Northern Beltline (AL)
True impact of highway project not evaluated
©Beth Young
The proposed Northern Beltline could have serious impacts on the headwaters of the Cahaba River - famous for its lilies - and other waters.
The Alabama Department of Transportation is planning to build a 60-mile interstate bypass to the north of Birmingham, called the Northern Beltline. The project poses a threat to the headwaters of the Cahaba River, one of Alabama's most outstanding natural resources.
The agency's environmental study, completed in 1997, fails to reflect the true environmental costs of the highway project and the commercial and residential development it would foster. SELC, representing the Cahaba River Society, the Alabama Rivers Alliance and the Black Warrior Riverkeeper, is insisting that ALDOT and the Federal Highway Association fully assess the ecological impacts of the Northern Beltline on waterways, air quality and endangered species, including the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. We will continue working to ensure the agency minimizes muddy runoff during construction, and that the final design of the project limits access that would promote sprawl.
