Beltline, hurricane, Underwater Forest, Miss Alabama: Down in Alabama
The future I-422
Construction is underway on the Birmingham Northern Beltline, reports AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz.
No, this is not an old edition of “Down in Alabama” that you’ve stumbled across. It’s 2024 and the Northern Beltline construction is underway again.
The plan is for the Northern Beltline — or Interstate 422 in the future — to run from I-59 in northeast Jefferson County between Trussville and Argo, around Birmingham to the north, and then southwest to meet I-459 near Bessemer. I-459 being the southern bypass, the Northern Beltline would roughly complete a loop around Birmingham.
The first phase of the project comes with a $64.7 million price tag. McInnis Construction of Summerdale was awarded the project and will build four lanes from State Route 79 to State Route 75. That’s two miles, will include two bridges, and is expected to be finished by late 2026.
Work on the project began in 2014 but stopped due to a lack of funding. Gov. Kay Ivey announced in April that $489 million in Federal money was secured for the project.
Record-setting storm
So far, Hurricane Season 2024 is living up to its billing.
AL.com’s Leigh Morgan reports that Hurricane Beryl on Sunday became the earliest Category 4 hurricane on record for the Atlantic basin. And it happened quickly, with the storm growing from a tropical storm to a major hurricane over the weekend.
As we record this Beryl is bearing down on the Windward Islands. Over the next few days forecasters have it tracking mostly west across the Caribbean Sea.
Now, a couple things that can either serve as a reminder or may be new information to folks who are new at tracking tropical cyclones. When you see the forecast track maps, note that the solid shaded cone is where forecasters believe the storm’s center of circulation might be over the next three days. Not just the position of the dots but anywhere in that cone. Remember that the effects of a hurricane can extend hundreds of miles from there, so even if you’re outside the cone you can still get the wind, rain and storm surge that come with a hurricane.
The lighter shaded extension of the cone completes a five-day forecast. Don’t bet the farm on the storm staying on its track through that cone. The more days out the forecast, the less reliable it is.
Also, if you see a map that someone has altered with a Sharpie, get a second opinion.
Forest in the Gulf
The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would protect the Underwater Forest off Alabama’s Gulf Coast as a national marine sanctuary, reports Margaret Kates for the Press-Register digital edition.
The Underwater Forest is a fossilized ancient cypress forest that was revealed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. The designation would prohibit activities that would involve digging up any of the site, such as oil exploration or production. It would not affect fishing or diving.
To read more on that you’ll want to subscribe to the Press-Register.
So many people these days get whatever news their friends share on Facebook, and they don’t get a news report that’s custom-curated for them and people in their neck of the woods. Well, the Press-Register digital edition I just mention — just like The Birmingham News and The Huntsville Times — is available to fill that need. Right now it’s a dollar for the first month and $10 a month after that. Check it out here.
A new Miss Alabama
Miss Hoover is now Miss Alabama, reports AL.com’s Mary Colurso.
Abbie Stockard of Birmingham is a 21-year-old nursing student at Auburn University. She’s also on the Tiger Paws dance team at Auburn, and in the talent part of the competition she did a contemporary dance to the Lauren Daigle song “You Say.”
Stockard had already finished first in two preliminary rounds: evening gown and talent. Big change in this year’s competition: The public was allowed to vote online for a dollar per vote to help place their favorites among the 13 semifinalists.
Quoting
“I was privileged to play two decades in Kansas City, and in that time, I saw so many memorable players, all these guys here and some that couldn’t be here today. But without hesitation I never saw anyone quite like Bo, and I doubt I ever will again. He is the greatest athlete I have ever seen. He is and remains a cultural icon.”
More Alabama News
Quiz results
Here are the answers and how readers did on Friday’s quiz (Which Ivana Hrynkiw aced on the podcast, by the way):
The University of Alabama Board of Trustees recently formally approved a plan for UAB Health System to acquire:
- Ascension St. Vincent’s hospital sites (CORRECT) 94.4%
- The Birmingham-Southern College campus 4.9%
- Rickwood Field 0.6%
- Naming rights to the new Alabama State House 0.0%
Reggie Jackson recently went viral after he described the discrimination he faced while playing in Birmingham in 1967. What team did he play for?
- Birmingham Barons 60.5%
- Birmingham Athletics (CORRECT) 21.0%
- Birmingham Braves 9.3%
- Birmingham-Southern Panthers 9.3%
Montgomery’s Romay Davis, who passed away recently at age 104, was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal for serving the U.S. Army in this capacity.
- She was a member of an all-female, all-Black battalion that cleared a backlog of mail to soldiers in World War II Europe. (CORRECT) 80.2%
- She was the only female member of the Tuskegee Airmen. 13.0%
- She was the longest-tenured drill instructor. 4.3%
- She was the machine-gunner who inspired the Alice in Chains song “Rooster.” 2.5%
The first Black mayor appears to be on his way to the mayor’s office in this Alabama town after a bizarre, nearly four-year impasse with the longtime city leadership over who would control the town hall.
- Newbern (CORRECT) 80.9%
- Brewton 12.3%
- Mentone 6.8%
- Arbacoochee 0.0%
What is the relationship between Saharan dust plumes and tropical disturbances?
- The Sarahan dust plumes can hinder formation of tropical systems. (CORRECT) 51.2%
- The Sarahan dust plumes can fuel formation of tropical systems. 42.6%
- Tropical storms put Sarahan dust and Africanized honeybees through a blending effect that produces a new supervillain. 3.7%
- Areas of tropical development push the plumes back to the Sahara. 2.5%
Born on This Date
In 1961, Sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis of Birmingham. Won nine Olympic gold medals over the ‘84, ‘88, ‘92 and ‘94 Games and may be Charley Steiner’s favorite singer.
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