Completed Northern Beltline expected to increase business, save lives in Jefferson County

PINSON, Ala. (WIAT) – Senator Katie Britt joined local leaders and first responders on Wednesday to see the progress of the Northern Beltline construction.

“This is something that they put on my radar as I was running, and I have been working on that in that phase of my career and life, but immediately upon taking office two years ago, the mayors of these communities said, ‘we want to elevate this project and we need help,’” Senator Britt said. “I am proud to be a partner with them and others as we continue to move this forward.”

The Northern Beltline will be a 52-mile interstate connecting I-59 in northern Jefferson County to I-459 near Bessemer. This will create an interstate loop around Birmingham that will be known as I-422.

“We’re talking about obviously moving people safely and securely around the area, but we’re also talking about creating opportunity,” Britt said. “With this kind of growth, every single community along its pathway and within its reach will be exponentially better as a result of the opportunity that will be created from this.”

The first segment of the Northern Beltline will run from State Route 75 to State Route 79 in Pinson. Construction in this area began in 2014 but had to pause in 2016 due to a lack in federal funding. Funding has since come back, and construction resumed. This segment is expected to be completed by next year.

“Obviously, this has been a vision for years, and this will transform not only just this region of the state, but it will transform the state,” said Britt.

Along with the connection the interstate loop is expected to bring comes an expectation of increased business in the region.

“We’ve seen what a beltline like this can do. 459 is a great example of how it can build an economy,” said Steve Ammons, president of the Birmingham Business Alliance. “It builds housing and hospitals and businesses and jobs that help our entire region thrive.”

He says an economic impact study shows, once completed, the beltline could bring two billion dollars to the area each year.

“Not only do we have to get this done, but we have to get it done sooner, and we can’t waste any time getting that done,” said Ammons.

Fultondale Fire Chief Justin McKenzie says the completed interstate loop will save lives.

“Today, getting from here, in the area where we stand to the freestanding ER in Gardendale takes about 30 minutes. With this Northern Beltline, the trip could be cut to just 10 minutes. That’s 20 minutes we could be using to give someone the care that they need, and, in an emergency, that could make a difference between life and death,” McKenzie said. “For us, not even thinking about getting them to the hospital, but getting those rescues back out here to take care of the next patient.”

Alabama’s congressional delegation secured $525 million in federal funding to complete the first 10-mile segment of the Northern Beltline.