Introduction
US 72 going east out of Huntsville is a major inlet to the city from the eastern and northeastern parts of Madison County, AL; Jackson County, AL; Lincoln County, TN; and Franklin County, TN and points beyond. It is one of only two four-lane routes that connects the northeastern part of Madison County with downtown Huntsville (the other is Winchester Rd which was recently widened). There has been lots of growth in the northeastern part of Madison County along Winchester Rd, Ryland Pike, and Moores Mill Rd, and a lot of the traffc from that grown eventually uses this segment of US 72 to reach Huntsville.
In addition, US 72, along with I-565 and Alternate US 72, forms a four-lane travel corridor between Memphis and Chattanooga. Some trucks use this route in lieu of using Interstates 24 and 40 through Nashville. Also, many industrial operations are located along Alternate US 72 in Decatur along the Tennessee River. This route also parallels Norfolk Southern’s Memphis to Chattanooga rail line.
A lot of traffic that uses US 72 to cross Chapman Mountain then uses either Moores Mill Rd or Shields Rd to reach the fast-growing northeastern part of Madison County. Combine the commuter traffic from this part of the county with the truck traffic and the mountainous upgrade going westbound on US 72, and there is a lot of congestion along this corridor.
Current Design Concept
Plans are underway by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to construct an interchange at US 72 and Moores Mill Rd and Shields Rd. The basic concept looks very similar to what you would find along Research Park Blvd north of University Drive (US 72) (http://g.co/maps/edmcj) as well as I-565’s interchange with Sparkman Drive and Old Madison Pike (http://g.co/maps/cvjmu):
Think of it as a hybrid of these two concepts. The ramps will also serve as frontage roads for businesses along the roadway like Research Park Blvd and Memorial Pkwy but the interchange will not be as tight, similar to I-565 and Sparkman Dr/Old Madison Pike.
The interchange with US 72 will start a half mile west of Moores Mill Rd. This is where the ramps will begin. The through portion of US 72 will utilize a bridge to cross over Moores Mill Rd. East of Moores Mill Rd, there will be an additional set of ramps to provide access to and from Shields Rd (a ramp will connect Eastbound US 72 just east of the Moores Mill Rd bridge with the eastbound service road to access Shields Rd, and another ramp will connect the westbound service road with US 72 west just before the Moores Mill Rd bridge). These ramps will provide a “bypass” for traffic originating from Shields Rd to go past the ramps for Moores Mill Rd.
The through portion of US 72 will then pass underneath Shields Rd. The service roads will maintain a similar grade to existing US 72 except for on the westernmost portion. Two U-turn ramps will be provided for service road traffic and businesses at Moores Mill Rd and Shields Rd (westbound to eastbound at Moores Mill Rd; eastbound to westbound at Shields Rd). The mainline portion of US 72 will be located slightly north of the current US 72 alignment. The service roads will be located on either side of the mainline portion of US 72.
My Idea for US 72
Last night was another public meeting on this interchange concept. I had some comments about the design. Most of my comments have to do with the portion of US 72 west of Moores Mill Rd. An added scope item from the past public meeting was the elimination of the at-grade intersection at the top of Chapman Mountain on US 72.
Epworth Drive, if left unaltered, would be an at-grade intersection located between two interchanges along what would otherwise be classified a freeway. That would be a recipe for disaster; however, access to the neighborhoods needs to be maintained that are south of US 72. There are plans by the Huntsville Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to construct an interchange near the location of where Epworth Drive intersects US 72. It will be a northern extension of High Mountain Rd which will also go north over the mountain to intersect with Chase Rd at Higdon Rd east of Alabama A&M University. However, the design of that interchange is not in the scope of the current design effort.
Below are my ideas for the road that I submitted to the ALDOT. Commentary on these ideas can be found after.
Commentary:
A weaving section, in the simplest terms, is simply an auxiliary lane that doesn’t end when it merges onto a freeway. It continues to the next exit where it then follows the off-ramp. Examples of weaving sections in Huntsville can be found along I-565 between Jordan Lane and Sparkman Drive and between Old Madison Pike and Research Park Blvd. Usually weaving sections are provided when the distance between two interchanges isn’t that long or if there is a lot of people getting onto the freeway at the first interchange and then exiting at the second interchange. For example, you would use weaving section to get from Research Park Blvd to get to Sparkman Drive. You would stay in the lane that is formed when the ramp merges with I-565, and that lane takes you to the exit for Sparkman Drive without the need to change lanes. A type A weaving section is the simplest one because the lane that is formed from the entrance ramp becomes the lane that drops off at the next exit ramp.
I suggest that weaving sections be placed here for two reasons. The first is that the spacing between the two interchanges is about a mile. Although this is a bit longer than other examples I have seen, the added wrinkle of a hill could make a weaving section more feasible. The second reason is that the added traffic from the proposed Harris Hills development south of US 72 at Moores Mill Rd along with the hill going westbound for trucks going to US 72 west from Moores Mill Rd may justify a weaving section.
I proposed an additional lane going up the hill westbound to accommodate trucks. Even with the improvements trucks are going to be moving slower than usual along mainline US 72. It would also be good to see a truck-climbing lane going east on I-565 before Exit 21, but that is out of the scope of this project.
Even though it will be an added safety benefit to eliminate the at-grade intersection with Epworth Drive, it will make access to US 72 for those residents south of US 72 and east of Maysville Road more difficult. I envision Harris Hills Blvd as a southern frontage road for US 72 on the top of Chapman Mountain, and my proposal agrees with that. It would be a fix until the interchange with High Mountain Road is constructed.
US 72 going east out of Huntsville is a major inlet to the city from the eastern and northeastern parts of Madison County, AL; Jackson County, AL; Lincoln County, TN; and Franklin County, TN and points beyond. It is one of only two four-lane routes that connects the northeastern part of Madison County with downtown Huntsville (the other is Winchester Rd which was recently widened). There has been lots of growth in the northeastern part of Madison County along Winchester Rd, Ryland Pike, and Moores Mill Rd, and a lot of the traffc from that grown eventually uses this segment of US 72 to reach Huntsville.
In addition, US 72, along with I-565 and Alternate US 72, forms a four-lane travel corridor between Memphis and Chattanooga. Some trucks use this route in lieu of using Interstates 24 and 40 through Nashville. Also, many industrial operations are located along Alternate US 72 in Decatur along the Tennessee River. This route also parallels Norfolk Southern’s Memphis to Chattanooga rail line.
A lot of traffic that uses US 72 to cross Chapman Mountain then uses either Moores Mill Rd or Shields Rd to reach the fast-growing northeastern part of Madison County. Combine the commuter traffic from this part of the county with the truck traffic and the mountainous upgrade going westbound on US 72, and there is a lot of congestion along this corridor.
Current Design Concept
Plans are underway by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to construct an interchange at US 72 and Moores Mill Rd and Shields Rd. The basic concept looks very similar to what you would find along Research Park Blvd north of University Drive (US 72) (http://g.co/maps/edmcj) as well as I-565’s interchange with Sparkman Drive and Old Madison Pike (http://g.co/maps/cvjmu):
Figure 1: Research Park Blvd (AL Highway 255) north of University Drive (US 72)
Figure 2: I-565 interchange with Sparkman Drive and Old Madison Pike
Think of it as a hybrid of these two concepts. The ramps will also serve as frontage roads for businesses along the roadway like Research Park Blvd and Memorial Pkwy but the interchange will not be as tight, similar to I-565 and Sparkman Dr/Old Madison Pike.
The interchange with US 72 will start a half mile west of Moores Mill Rd. This is where the ramps will begin. The through portion of US 72 will utilize a bridge to cross over Moores Mill Rd. East of Moores Mill Rd, there will be an additional set of ramps to provide access to and from Shields Rd (a ramp will connect Eastbound US 72 just east of the Moores Mill Rd bridge with the eastbound service road to access Shields Rd, and another ramp will connect the westbound service road with US 72 west just before the Moores Mill Rd bridge). These ramps will provide a “bypass” for traffic originating from Shields Rd to go past the ramps for Moores Mill Rd.
The through portion of US 72 will then pass underneath Shields Rd. The service roads will maintain a similar grade to existing US 72 except for on the westernmost portion. Two U-turn ramps will be provided for service road traffic and businesses at Moores Mill Rd and Shields Rd (westbound to eastbound at Moores Mill Rd; eastbound to westbound at Shields Rd). The mainline portion of US 72 will be located slightly north of the current US 72 alignment. The service roads will be located on either side of the mainline portion of US 72.
Figure 3: Plan for US 72 at Shields Rd from previous Public Meeting in August 2010
Figure 4: Typical cross section of US 72 near Shields Rd from previous Public Meeting in August 2010
My Idea for US 72
Last night was another public meeting on this interchange concept. I had some comments about the design. Most of my comments have to do with the portion of US 72 west of Moores Mill Rd. An added scope item from the past public meeting was the elimination of the at-grade intersection at the top of Chapman Mountain on US 72.
Epworth Drive, if left unaltered, would be an at-grade intersection located between two interchanges along what would otherwise be classified a freeway. That would be a recipe for disaster; however, access to the neighborhoods needs to be maintained that are south of US 72. There are plans by the Huntsville Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to construct an interchange near the location of where Epworth Drive intersects US 72. It will be a northern extension of High Mountain Rd which will also go north over the mountain to intersect with Chase Rd at Higdon Rd east of Alabama A&M University. However, the design of that interchange is not in the scope of the current design effort.
Figure 5: US 72 at Epworth Drive as of today
Figure 6: Route residents have to take in order to access US 72 west and I-565 west
Below are my ideas for the road that I submitted to the ALDOT. Commentary on these ideas can be found after.
- Consider the addition of a Type A weaving section between Exit 21 at US 72 West and the new interchange at Moores Mill Rd for both eastbound and westbound traffic on US 72. This will effectively add a third lane going up hill westbound on US 72 which will be helpful for trucks that are using the onramp from Moores Mill Rd. It will also be helpful for trucks that are going uphill on the mainline of US 72.
- I understand that the design of the mainline of US 72 will provide enough room for an additional third lane through the interchange in case it is needed in the future. In conjunction with comment #1, consider starting a third lane westbound immediately after the bridge over Moores Mill Rd. If this is done, then there may not be as much of a need for the weaving section discussed in comment #1 for westbound traffic. However, a weaving section would be nice going eastbound since a big portion of traffic exits US 72 at Moores Mill Rd currently. The third lane/auxiliary lane could start from the lane that comes from the EB ramp to US 72 from Exit 21, and since it will no longer be used as a right turn onto Epworth Drive, it could simply be extended to where the ramp to Moores Mill Road begins.
- I like the idea of eliminating the at-grade intersection at Epworth Drive and extending Harris Hill Blvd west to essentially be the south Frontage Road for US 72. However, the access options for the residents that live on High Mountain Road and in the surrounding neighborhoods become limited with the elimination of the at-grade intersection. Residents could either use Harris Hill Blvd east to reach Moores Mill Rd and US 72, or they would have to Epworth Drive south to Isabelle Circle to Roaslie Ridge Drive SE to reach Maysville Rd and US 72. The former option is more direct for High Mountain Rd residents, but for those living along Epworth Drive going into the neighborhood, this creates two problems: having to go through the neighborhood to reach US 72, and increased traffic along neighborhood streets from people trying to access US 72. Something also to keep in mind is that there is a proposed development along Harris Hill Blvd due south of Moores Mill Rd which will generate additional traffic not only at the US 72/Moores Mill Rd intersection, but also along Harris Hill Blvd. A proposed solution to this access problem can be found below. I don't know if this solution would hurt the level of service of the existing interchange at Exit 21, but it is something to consider.
Figure 7: A possible solution to maintain access to US 72 and I-565 west for neighborhoods south of US 72
Commentary:
A weaving section, in the simplest terms, is simply an auxiliary lane that doesn’t end when it merges onto a freeway. It continues to the next exit where it then follows the off-ramp. Examples of weaving sections in Huntsville can be found along I-565 between Jordan Lane and Sparkman Drive and between Old Madison Pike and Research Park Blvd. Usually weaving sections are provided when the distance between two interchanges isn’t that long or if there is a lot of people getting onto the freeway at the first interchange and then exiting at the second interchange. For example, you would use weaving section to get from Research Park Blvd to get to Sparkman Drive. You would stay in the lane that is formed when the ramp merges with I-565, and that lane takes you to the exit for Sparkman Drive without the need to change lanes. A type A weaving section is the simplest one because the lane that is formed from the entrance ramp becomes the lane that drops off at the next exit ramp.
I suggest that weaving sections be placed here for two reasons. The first is that the spacing between the two interchanges is about a mile. Although this is a bit longer than other examples I have seen, the added wrinkle of a hill could make a weaving section more feasible. The second reason is that the added traffic from the proposed Harris Hills development south of US 72 at Moores Mill Rd along with the hill going westbound for trucks going to US 72 west from Moores Mill Rd may justify a weaving section.
I proposed an additional lane going up the hill westbound to accommodate trucks. Even with the improvements trucks are going to be moving slower than usual along mainline US 72. It would also be good to see a truck-climbing lane going east on I-565 before Exit 21, but that is out of the scope of this project.
Even though it will be an added safety benefit to eliminate the at-grade intersection with Epworth Drive, it will make access to US 72 for those residents south of US 72 and east of Maysville Road more difficult. I envision Harris Hills Blvd as a southern frontage road for US 72 on the top of Chapman Mountain, and my proposal agrees with that. It would be a fix until the interchange with High Mountain Road is constructed.
Let me know what you think! If you have any ideas of your own, feel free to submit them!
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