Memorial Parkway (Huntsville)
| Memorial Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Length: | 18.3 mi[1] (29.5 km) |
| Location: | Huntsville, Alabama |
| North end: | Bob Wade Lane (continues as   US 231/431) |
| Major junctions: |
 US 72 East / Sparkman Drive US 72 West / University Drive Interstate 565 Alabama 53 / Governors Drive US 431 / Governors Drive |
| South end: | Tennessee River (continues as US 231) |
Memorial Parkway, also known as The Parkway, is a major thoroughfare in Huntsville, Alabama[2] that carries over 100,000 vehicles on average a day[3]. It, in whole or in part, follows U.S. Route 231, U.S. Route 431, U.S. Route 72, and State Route 53 through the Huntsville city limits.[4] It is a limited access road through most of Huntsville city proper, providing exits to the frontage road which allow access to road intersections, as well as businesses and residences along the route.[5] Both the limited access and frontage roads are referred to as Memorial Parkway. Originally constructed in the 1950s and officially opened on December 1, 1955, the highway is the major commercial thoroughfare through Huntsville, a status it has held since the mid-1960s.[5][6][7]
Contents |
[edit] Route Description
From the south, US 231 / Alabama 53 enters Madison County and the city limits of Huntsville over the Tennessee River via the Clement C. Clay Bridge, which is also known as Whitesburg Bridge. From there, the four lane US 231 takes the name of Memorial Parkway and travels north passing Hobbs Island Road where it widens to six lanes.
Memorial Parkway passes to the east of a Sanmina-SCI Corporation production plant, crossing over Green Cove Road. From there, it continues north, passing beside various businesses and farm lands. The Parkway intersects Hobbs Road just south of the first major shopping center of many, the Southeast Plaza Shopping Center. Continuing due north, the Parkway passes Mountain Gap Road and Meadowbrook Drive.
Just north of Meadowbrook Drive, the first of many overpasses start. Vehicles are directed to exit here to access both Whitesburg Drive and Weatherly Road. Just north of Weatherly Road, the Parkway's controlled access highway merges back to a six lane highway with traffic signals at Lily Flagg Road, Charlotte Drive, Byrd Spring Road, and Boulevard South. This section of the Parkway is planned to be upgraded to controlled access by 2016. Then a series of overpasses start just north of Martin Road; the first is Golf Road, followed by Airport Road, passing by John Hunt Park.
Following Airport Road, there is a "useless" overpass, as it is referred to by locals since it crosses over no other roadway. This overpass was originally constructed to provide a convenient U-turn as well as allow quicker access to businesses alongside the Parkway.[4] The Parkway continues north with overpasses at Drake and Bob Wallace Avenues, where it passes by Parkway Place Mall.
At Governors Drive, Alabama 53 splits off and travels west and US 231 begins its overlap with US 431. The Parkway continues north with an overpass at Clinton Ave with a full interchange with Interstate 565; this interchange is sometimes referred to as Malfunction Junction. The Parkway has an overpass at US 72 West/University Drive where an additional overlap with US 72 begins. An overpass at Oakwood Ave leads to a current construction zone where crews are working to complete an overpass over Max Luther and Sparkman Drives. At Sparkman Drive, the overlap with US 72 ends as it splits off to the east. US 231/431 continues north with at-grade intersection at Mastin Lake Road, which is planned to have an overpass built by 2021[8]. Memorial Parkway continues north passing by Alabama A&M University with at-grade intersections at Winchester Road, Meridian Street, and Bob Wade Lane, where the Parkway officially ends and continues as US 231/431.
[edit] History
US 231 originally ran down through the center of Huntsville following Meridian Street and Whitesburg Drive through Downtown. Memorial Parkway was built as a four lane highway in the 1950s to bypass downtown. At the time, the only overpass was at Clinton Avenue with traffic signals at every other major intersection. With the establishment of the U.S. Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, and the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in the 1960s, Huntsville underwent massive population growth, and, as a result, traffic increased[9]. State and City leaders started planning to make the Parkway a limited access highway and the second overpass, the "useless" overpass, opened in 1969.
In 1973, the Drake Avenue overpass officially opened, followed by an overpass at Bob Wallace Avenue in 1976. An overpass at Governors Drive opened in 1978. In 1986, the University Drive overpass opened, and in the 1990's, overpasses at Airport Road, Golf Road and Oakwood Avenue opened making a controlled access highway throughout much of the city.
In 2010, overpasses at Whitesburg Drive and Weatherly Road in South Huntsville opened to the public; and an overpass over Sparkman Drive, Max Luther Drive, and US 72 East started construction which should be complete by the spring of 2012.
Currently in 2012, clearing of the right of way is happening in South Huntsville to make room for service roads for new overpasses at Lily Flagg and Byrd Spring Road. Actual construction on those overpasses won't start until 2016[9].
[edit] Expansion
Memorial Parkway's limited access portion is being expanded to include interchanges and frontage roads to the following cross streets. Estimated completion dates for significant current Parkway projects are statused in a quarterly Construction Bulletin[10] from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT)'s Bureau of Transportation Planning.
[edit] North side
From north to south:
- Sparkman Drive/U.S. Route 72 East (under construction, scheduled to be completed in 2012[11])
- Max Luther Drive (under construction, scheduled to be completed in 2012[11])
- Oakwood Ave
- University Drive/U.S. Route 72 West
- Clinton Ave
- Governors Drive
- Bob Wallace Ave
- Drake Ave
[edit] South side
From north to south:
- Airport Road
- Byrd Spring Road (construction to start in 2016[11])
- Charlotte Drive/Logan Drive/Lily Flagg Road (construction to start in 2016[11])
- Whitesburg Drive/Cameron Road
- Weatherly Road
- Meadowbrook Drive (southbound exit only)
[edit] In popular culture
- Professional baseball player Jose Canseco earned the nickname "Jose Parkway" while playing with the Huntsville Stars for his ability to hit home runs over the outfield fence at Joe Davis Stadium.[12]
[edit] Exit list
| Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|
| Meadowbrook Drive West | Southbound exit only |
| Whitesburg Drive, Weatherly Road | Also exit for Cameron Road but not signed. |
| Martin Road, Vermont Road | |
| Golf Road, Jones Valley Drive | |
| Airport Road, Jones Valley Drive | |
| Drake Avenue | Coming from the south, Drake Avenue appears to have two exits because there is a sign that will guide drivers to exit in time for the useless overpass, and another at the appropriate place to exit for Drake Avenue. Both exits lead to the same access road. |
| Bob Wallace Avenue | |
   US-431 south / SR-53 north (Governors Drive, SR 1 south) to SR-20 west |
North end of SR 53 overlap; south end of US 431/SR 1 overlap |
| Clinton Avenue - Downtown Huntsville | Former SR 20 |
 I-565 (US 72 Alt.) |
|
 US-72 west (University Drive, SR 2 west) |
South end of US 72/SR 2 overlap |
| Oakwood Avenue, Cook Avenue |
[edit] References
- ^ Google Maps. Overview Map of Memorial Parkway (Map). http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=34.82930,+-86.57151&daddr=34.57508,+-86.56877&hl=en&sll=34.572362,-86.566558&sspn=0.010336,0.01929&geocode=FfRzEwIdCgbX-g%3BFeiSDwIdvhDX-g&vpsrc=0&mra=ls&t=m&z=11. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
- ^ "National Affairs: Rocket City, U.S.A.". Time. February 17, 1958. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862900,00.html. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ^ City of Huntsville Traffic Engineering
- ^ a b Marshall, Mike (December 21, 2005). "Parkway: Savior or joke?". Huntsville Times.
- ^ a b Grant, Howard (August 7, 1964). "Redesigning of Parkway is proposed". The Huntsville Times: p. 1.
- ^ "Businessmen Fighting Highway". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press: p. 5A. February 20, 1972. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nAMdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QJwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5447,3368573&dq=memorial-parkway+huntsville&hl=en. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ^ "Study shows Huntsville to need highway". Gadsden Times. Associated Press. August 28, 1985. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yLIfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c9cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5919,5345067&dq=memorial-parkway+huntsville&hl=en. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
- ^ Clines, Keith (27 March 2011). "Road projects should outpace traffic growth in the coming decade (Outlook 2011)". The Huntsville Times. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/03/outlook_2011_road_projects_sho.html. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ a b Clines, Keith (02 January 2011). "Memorial Parkway overpasses' cost increase signficantly over 41 years". The Huntsville Times. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/01/post_512.html. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ ALDOT's Construction Bulletin
- ^ a b c d Road projects should outpace traffic growth in the coming decade (Outlook 2011) -- Huntsville Times blog
- ^ "A's Canseco reaches majors with a thump". Miami Herald. September 24, 1985. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB363989CFC1DE5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved March 16, 2010.
