Nearly completed Highway 11 project expected to provide multiple benefits to west Alabama

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) - The longest current road improvement project in west Alabama is moving closer to completion.

Work on US Highway 11 began in 2022 and stretches around seven miles.

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is overseeing the work and say it will be good for divers and the local economy.

John McWilliams with ALDOT said the project is nearly completed.

“We anticipate being finished later this summer,” Williams said. “And once we finish it, we’ll be able to more traffic more efficiently and safely.”

Crews are resurfacing and widening the highway, which runs from Daimler Benz Boulevard at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance to the State Highway 5 in Bibb County.

Nearly 10,000 drivers use that stretch of highway daily, up from 8,000 people per day just a few years ago, according to ALDOT.

Once it’s completed, they expect it will boost economic development in the areas it touches, as well as make the route safer for drivers.

Additionally, the widened highway will help ALDOT provide a detour route for drivers on nearby Interstate 20/50 if traffic backs up for any reason.

Right now, crews are paving the southbound lanes.

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