Project Overview
Location: Elrod/Buhl (Tuscaloosa County)
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is developing an access management plan along the AL-6 (US-82) corridor that will preserve the functional integrity and capacity of the roadway, while reducing conflict points that degrade the roadway’s safety performance. Access management along the corridor will include the closure of median openings, restriction of turning movements, and modifying existing turn lanes.The median openings are proposed to be closed for 1 of 3 reasons:
- 1. The median opening does not directly serve a driveway on either side of AL-6 (US-82).
- 2. The median opening is too closely spaced to an adjacent median opening and does not meet ALDOT’s minimum spacing requirements.
- 3. The median opening is in a horizontal or vertical curve and have poor sight distance.
Where a median opening remains along the study corridor, left turn lanes are proposed to be modified to meet current standards. Turn lanes are especially important on US-82 because of the high vehicular speeds. Another proposed improvement is the restriction of turning movements. This helps to reduce the number of conflict points, which reduces the likelihood of a crash.
In summary, of the existing 18 median openings:
- a. Seven (7) are proposed to be closed/removed.
- b. Three (3) are proposed to be modified with restricted turning movements.
- c. Eight (8) are proposed to have their lengths and widths adjusted to meet current standards.