Road widening project in west Alabama to cut emergency response times, officials say

HALE COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - A highway expansion project along the west Alabama Highway 43 and State Route 69 corridor is expected to reduce emergency response times once complete, according to Hale County Emergency Management Agency Director Russ Weeden.

When finished, Highway 43 and State Route 69 will be four-laned from Thomasville to just north of Moundville. The total project cost is estimated to be between $800 million and $1 billion.

Weeden, who has served as Hale County EMA director for more than 25 years and as a paramedic for 32 years, said more than 50% of his emergency calls require use of State Route 69, which is currently a two-lane road.

“It’s going to speed up trips to Tuscaloosa and even Birmingham. That two-lane road there, there’s a whole lot of traffic, there’s a lot of delays so having a four lane, especially from Highway 80 all the way to Moundville, is really going to speed up patient care. We have a lot of accidents that happen on 69 because it’s a two-lane road, so we look for decrease in accidents once the four lanes gets up and going,” Weeden said.

Every mile of State Route 69 will be four-laned, a stretch of approximately 50 miles, according to Weeden.

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