ALDOT helping make your Thanksgiving weekend travel a little easier

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - The Alabama Department of Transportation is about make your Thanksgiving travel a little easier. Starting Wednesday at noon through Sunday across the entire state, ALDOT says it will have no new temporary lane closures on Alabama’s interstates. This means travelers will have one less thing to worry about during their drive.

“So yes, if we’re gonna do patching work or anything for bridge maintenance on the interstate, we’re not going to do any temporary lane closures Wednesday through Sunday. The stuff that’s already out there, it will remain, but nothing new will go on during that period,” said John McWilliams, the ALDOT spokesman for west Alabama.

The decision to do this comes on the eve of millions of families driving at least 50 miles to their destinations.

“We have so many motorists who travel and this is one of the most traveled holidays in America and with so many coming through our state, it’s important to us to help them get to their destination safely,” McWilliams said.

“All hands are on deck,” said ALEA Trooper Reginal King.

State Troopers such as Reginal King say despite the fact there will be no new temporary lane closures, that will be no excuse to speed or text and drive.

“If you take your eyes off the road for five seconds, it is the equivalent of closing your eyes and traveling the length of a football field with your eyes closed. It is dangerous and irresponsible,” said King.

McWilliams and King say there is one sure way to create happy family memories during this Thanksgiving on the road - do it right, stay alert, pay attention.

Trooper King himself has worked one too many sad fatalities during the holiday season.

“It’s never good. Anytime you have a loss of life on Alabama highways, it’s a tragic situation,” King said.

And this is good news - Trooper King says in recent years, there’s been an actual decrease in the number of traffic fatalities in the state during the Thanksgiving period.

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