Research Park Boulevard (State Route 255 or SR 255) runs from I-565 to Bob Wade Lane on the north and west sides of Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama. Much of the route is a limited access highway, with the entire route planned to be limited access. Plans call for the road to be extended to create a near-complete bypass around Huntsville.
 State Route 255 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research Park Boulevard | ||||
 SR 255 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ALDOT | ||||
| Length | 10.052 mi[1] (16.177 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | Rideout Road in Redstone Arsenal | |||
   I-565 / US 72 Alt. in Huntsville US 72 in Huntsville SR 53 in Huntsville | ||||
| North end | Bob Wade Lane in Huntsville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Alabama | |||
| Counties | Madison | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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History
editSR 255 was created around 1969 as part of a proposed northern bypass of Huntsville. The original route ran from Redstone Arsenal Gate 9 to US 72 as limited access highway with exits for U.S. Route 72 Alternate/SR 20 (now Interstate 565), Old Madison Pike, and ending at US 72, with plans to extend north. The interchange with SR 20 was intended only to provide access to the Arsenal's Gate 9 and accordingly had an incomplete set of ramps; going southbound on 255 there was no direct access to 20, and from 20 it was only possible to enter 255 going southbound. SR 255 only appeared on maps and was unsigned, and was better known as Rideout Road. The road continues southward past Gate 9 into Redstone Arsenal and actually has an additional interchange at the Toftoy Thruway, but this is not considered part of the state route.
A fourth interchange opened in 1989. At that time, Bradford Drive was overpassed over 255 to connect the existing east side of Cummings Research Park to the recently opened west side. A set of ramps provided full access between the two roads. During the construction of I-565 in 1989, a truck towing a crane dislodged the southbound bridge over SR 20 forcing an earlier replacement of the bridge. SR 255 was first signed as an exit off of 565.
SR 255 was extended north in 1996 to SR 53. The interchange with US 72 was modified as part of this work, and a third southbound lane was added between US 72 and Bradford Drive. However, an existing cloverleaf ramp that provided access from 72 westbound to 255 southbound was eliminated; it is now necessary for westbound 72 traffic to make a left turn across the eastbound lanes in order to reach southbound 255.
SR 255 was originally named Rideout Road in honor of 1st Lt. Percy Rideout, who was killed in action in France on October 8, 1918, and was posthumously promoted and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism in action".[2] In 2001, the road was renamed Research Park Boulevard for Cummings Research Park, which the road bisects. (The southward extension into the Arsenal is still named Rideout Road.)
In 2005, a three-mile extension was constructed to connect with Bob Wade Lane on the north side of Huntsville. This section was named in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and built to the same road standards as the present at-grade portion of SR 255, allowing for future upgrade to limited access. The road was built as part of a deal with the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama Plant to allow faster access to I-565.
In 2013, the at-grade intersection with SR 53 was replaced with an interchange. As part of this work, existing at-grade intersections with Blake Bottom Road and Dan Tibbs Road were eliminated, making the route all freeway from the Arsenal boundary to SR 53. These roads provide access to numerous subdivisions in northwestern Huntsville. That action created a traffic bottleneck in the afternoon, as traffic going from northbound SR 255 to these roads has to take the SR 53 ramp and then make a U-turn at the interchange to get to the frontage road intersections on the southbound side. A plan was created for an overpass at Blake Bottom Road to provide access from the northbound side of SR 255 but, in 2012, the Alabama DOT informed the city of Huntsville that the state will not pay for this project. After years of debate, in 2017, the ALDOT reached an agreement with Madison County to build the interchange; the county announced on September 10 that work will begin before the end of the year.[3] The interchange opened in 2020.
Future plans
editA $500 million southern bypass through Redstone Arsenal, which would extend SR 255 south from its current terminus at 565 to US 231 in south Huntsville, has been proposed. It would become part of the proposed Memphis–Huntsville–Atlanta highway.[4] Shortly after the 9/11 terror attacks, the project was put on hold indefinitely due to military security concerns.[5] Subsequently, the route was re-planned, and the current plan does not call for using any part of SR 255.[6]
In late 2020, the city of Huntsville was to begin construction to extend SR 255 to US 231/US 431 North towards Meridianville, which will replace Bob Wade Lane.[7] Long-range plans call for SR 255 to be built east and south to US 72 east of Huntsville.[8] The construction phase of this extension is scheduled to start in 2024.[9] In December 2013, the Huntsville City Council approved a sales tax increase to raise funds for this and other road projects around Huntsville; this went into effect March 1, 2014.[10]
Major junctions
editThe entire route is in Madison County.
| Location | mi[11][1] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville | 0.000 | 0.000 | Rideout Road | Redstone Arsenal Gate 9; southern terminus | |
| | 0.435 | 0.700 | I-565 / US 72 Alt. – Decatur | I-565 exit 14 | |
| Huntsville | 0.9 | 1.4 | Old Madison Pike | Interchange | |
| 1.9 | 3.1 | Bradford Drive | Interchange. Construction of an additional exit ramp started in 2020 and will provide a connection for northbound traffic to exit to Corporate Drive for better access to the new mixed use development known as MidCity | ||
| 2.853 | 4.591 | US 72 (University Drive/SR 2) – Huntsville, Athens | Interchange | ||
| 3.9 | 6.3 | Oakwood Road | Interchange | ||
| 4.9 | 7.9 | Plummer Road | Interchange | ||
| 6.350 | 10.219 | SR 53 – Ardmore, Huntsville | Interchange (opened 2013). An additional fly-over was opened in 2019 for Blake Bottom Road. | ||
| 7.2 | 11.6 | Northern end of freeway | |||
| 7.7 | 12.4 | Kelly Cemetery Road | At-grade intersection | ||
| 8.7 | 14.0 | Pulaski Pike | At-grade intersection, signalled | ||
| 10.052 | 16.177 | Bob Wade Lane | Northern terminus; continuation north | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b Milepost Map - Madison County, Alabama (PDF) (Map). Alabama Department of Transportation. Bureau of Transportation Planning. Surveying and Mapping Division. January 2014 [1999]. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
- ^ "U.S. Army Materiel Command on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2022-04-27.[user-generated source]
- ^ WHNT-TV. "Preliminary work set to begin on Blake Bottom Road overpass this fall". WHNT.com.
- ^ U.S. 72 (Corridor 7) Archived February 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No Bypass Across Redstone". Huntsville Times. April 22, 2009. http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1240391803127260.xml&coll=1 Archived June 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Al.com (3 December 2009). "New Patriot Parkway Route Follows Jordan Lane, Patton Road". Retrieved February 19, 2014.
- ^ "MPO Transportation Projects". Huntsville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
- ^ Huntsville MPO. 2030 Long-Range Transportation Plan. 2005. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-08. Retrieved June 12, 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ HuntsvilleAL.gov. "Restore Our Roads: Northern Bypass Would Connect 72E to I-565 at Redstone Arsenal". Archived from the original on 2014-02-28.
- ^ Al.com (20 December 2013). "Huntsville's sales tax will jump to 9 percent on March 1; City Council rejects sunset clause". Retrieved February 19, 2014.
- ^ "Alabama State Route 255" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
External links
edit- Alabama Department of Transportation county road maps for Madison (Adobe Acrobat reader required for maps; enlargement of maps necessary for legibility)