en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is seeking permits to fill 1.36 acres of wetlands and over 10,000 linear feet of streams to advance the expansion of the Birmingham Northern Beltline highway project.

The entire project is expected to span approximately 52 miles, traversing thousands of acres of forest and including about 90 river or stream crossings on tributaries of the Cahaba River and Black Warrior River. One of the most expensive highway projects in the United States, with an estimated cost exceeding $5.4 billion, it aims to completely encircle Birmingham with an interstate highway as part of an economic development plan.

However, a 2010 study by the University of Alabama indicated that predictions of economic prosperity from the project were "significantly exaggerated." Matthew Metzgar, author of a 2024 report by the Southern Environmental Law Center, stated that there is no reason to build this 52-mile mega-highway, especially in a predominantly rural area with no demand.

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