[SpawnOfVulcan]

The planning commission is looking at changing the status of Alabama 20/ALT 72 between I-65/I-565 and US 31 to controlled access. This stretch of road has been the source of much frustration for the city as traffic is awful and the eminent development of land along the route will be sure to make it worse.

Obviously, the designation of controlled access would mean that at least one interstate style interchange would have to be constructed to provide service for surrounding businesses.

I'll try to update y'all once they've made an official decision.

In the article in the Decatur Daily there was also some mention of the Sweetwater development. The local attorney for the project has said that Genesis USA (the developer) still intends to construct the billion dollar development at the SW corner of I-65 and Alabama 20/ALT 72. The anchor of the development would be Bass Pro Shops. Likely, once the Bass Pro gets constructed, worries about a lack of traffic to the development should go away. Also, Bass Pro has said that they fully intend to located a store in Decatur, no matter what happens with Sweetwater, a positive statement that they are confident in the Huntsville-Decatur market.