City's focus now shifts to bypass

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

By John Peck
jpeck@htimes.com

With thousands more federal workers expected to arrive in a few years, Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer said Monday afternoon that winning money to build the Southern Bypass is the city's next big challenge.

"Huntsville is hot," she said in her annual state of the city address to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, citing 4,500 expected military transfers, a downtown construction boom, two new schools and several major corporate and retail building startups.

Spencer didn't mention the bypass during her speech, but afterward said area leaders and the Tennessee Valley BRAC committee need to meet with state highway officials in Montgomery and Alabama's congressional delegation to speed funding for the proposed Southern Bypass.

"We want to go down there and talk to the governor about what kind of commitments we can get," she said.

Spencer said the bypass is crucial for the increased traffic demands the new jobs on Redstone Arsenal are expected to create. The project will require state and local matching money. The multimillion-dollar bypass, dubbed Patriot Parkway, would improve access to and around Redstone to office buildings that would house the new defense workers.

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, said last week that he and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, plan to meet soon with the state Department of Transportation over money for the highway. A federal highway bill approved in July authorized $2.4 million for planning and engineering work on the bypass.

Spencer also mentioned visits to the Washington, D.C., area planned next year to inform transferring workers about housing, schools and other amenities in the region.

In her speech, Spencer alluded to a key vote in Congress last week. The House killed a resolution that would have blocked recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The vote means BRAC proposals to shift about 4,500 jobs to Redstone will stick.

"We're ready to meet the challenge," she said, citing the new schools, road improvements, expanding recreational opportunities and more than 6,000 new home sites that have been approved in the last year or so.

Spencer said the influx of people should be large enough to benefit all communities across the Tennessee Valley.

"Madison County, Madison and surrounding cities have been a tremendous partner" in local BRAC efforts, she said. "There's enough to go around. We want to make sure all of North Alabama succeeds from this BRAC move."

Spencer began her speech with a videotape presentation chronicling the year, beginning with the unearthing of the bicentennial time capsule and ending with the BRAC decision.

At the meeting, Spencer touched on:




City's focus now shifts to bypass Mayor says road is key to handling growth at arsenal Tuesday, November 01, 2005 By John Peck jpeck@htimes.com With thousands more federal workers expected to arrive in a few years, Huntsville Mayor Loretta Spencer said Monday afternoon that winning money to build the Southern Bypass is the city's next big challenge. "Huntsville is hot," she said in her annual state of the city address to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, citing 4,500 expected military transfers, a downtown construction boom, two new schools and several major corporate and retail building startups. Spencer didn't mention the bypass during her speech, but afterward said area leaders and the Tennessee Valley BRAC committee need to meet with state highway officials in Montgomery and Alabama's congressional delegation to speed funding for the proposed Southern Bypass. "We want to go down there and talk to the governor about what kind of commitments we can get," she said. Spencer said the bypass is crucial for the increased traffic demands the new jobs on Redstone Arsenal are expected to create. The project will require state and local matching money. The multimillion-dollar bypass, dubbed Patriot Parkway, would improve access to and around Redstone to office buildings that would house the new defense workers. U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, said last week that he and U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, plan to meet soon with the state Department of Transportation over money for the highway. A federal highway bill approved in July authorized $2.4 million for planning and engineering work on the bypass. Spencer also mentioned visits to the Washington, D.C., area planned next year to inform transferring workers about housing, schools and other amenities in the region. In her speech, Spencer alluded to a key vote in Congress last week. The House killed a resolution that would have blocked recommendations of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. The vote means BRAC proposals to shift about 4,500 jobs to Redstone will stick. "We're ready to meet the challenge," she said, citing the new schools, road improvements, expanding recreational opportunities and more than 6,000 new home sites that have been approved in the last year or so. Spencer said the influx of people should be large enough to benefit all communities across the Tennessee Valley. "Madison County, Madison and surrounding cities have been a tremendous partner" in local BRAC efforts, she said. "There's enough to go around. We want to make sure all of North Alabama succeeds from this BRAC move." Spencer began her speech with a videotape presentation chronicling the year, beginning with the unearthing of the bicentennial time capsule and ending with the BRAC decision. At the meeting, Spencer touched on: The nearing completion date of the 10-story Embassy Suites hotel beside the Von Braun Center; The canal and extension of Big Spring International Park downtown; The planned Hudson-Alpha Institute for Biotechnology (named after Huntsville genetics pioneer Jim Hudson) in Cummings Research Park; The $210 million Bridge Street hotel-retail-residential complex in Cummings; and The city's 6.4 percent increase in sales tax collections. © 2005 The Huntsville Times © 2005 al.com All Rights Reserved

City's focus now shifts to bypass Mayor says road is key to handling growth at arsenal

City's focus now shifts to bypass
Mayor says road is key to handling growth at arsenal