Interstate message boards finally coming to I-565 in Huntsville

Interstate message boards finally coming to I-565 in Huntsville

A long-running project will begin to see construction this summer as three interstate message boards are installed on I-565 in Huntsville, the Alabama Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

Work on the signs is expected to take about a year to finish after beginning in August, a delay ALDOT attributed to supply chain issues.

The contract for the project was awarded to Nashville-based Stansell Electric, which submitted a low bid of just under $5.2 million.

Related: I-565 in Huntsville to get major technological upgrade, including message boards

The full-color digital signs, similar to those in Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery and Tuscaloosa, will be used to advise drivers about traffic delays, dangerous weather conditions or other relevant messages. Two of the signs will be on westbound lanes of I-565 heading toward I-65 and one will be on eastbound lanes.

The westbound signs will be located just before the Jordan Lane exit and just before the Greenbrier Parkway exit. The eastbound sign will be located just before the Memorial Parkway interchange.

The project will also include the addition of about 10 video cameras on I-565 as well as a new weather station and a replacement weather station.

The North Alabama district is the last in Alabama to receive the interstate message boards, ALDOT said. As such, it’s been an ongoing conversation in Huntsville about the lack of the signs and when they might be put in place. The highway department has been making plans for the message boards on I-565 – the 22-mile spur connecting I-65 with Huntsville – for almost two years.

In fact, ALDOT at one time said the hope was that the project would be completed by the end of 2023.