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Community Revitalization: Prichard, Alabama |
What Happened
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The need for a road that connected the port at Mobile to the center of the State had been
clear before 1958, when a formal request had been made to the FHWA for Interstate funding. In
the early 1960s, the Metropolitan Planning Organization in Mobile included the proposed road
in its regional transportation plan. In 1980, Congress approved a 6.25-mile Interstate
connection between I-10 and I-65. I-165 was originally proposed as I-210, an elevated highway
that would link I-10 in Mobile to I-65 in Prichard. The road would be elevated throughout its
length: four lanes south of Beauregard Street in downtown Mobile and six lanes north, through
Prichard, to I-65. In 1982, a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared, and
FHWA and ALDOT held corridor meetings.
While there was much turmoil in Mobile concerning the configuration of the proposed roadway
with Mobile, the Prichard scenario was altogether different. City leaders, the mayor in
particular, viewed the highway project as something that would bring economic prosperity, both
immediately and in the long term. In fact, many within the town believed that much of the
success of the project in Prichard hinged on their educated, articulate mayor. Most of the FHWA
and ALDOT officials who were involved in the I-165 project concur with the townspeople that the
Mayor's role was pivotal. The Mayor had urged ALDOT to have its project consultant, Greiner
Engineering, set up an office in Prichard. He met one-on-one with the clergy to keep them and
their clergy informed about the project, what it meant to Prichard, and about upcoming public
meetings. He also pushed for the establishment of a Design Advocacy Group that would act as an
interface between the residents of Prichard and the transportation agencies.
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