Postcard from Tuscaloosa: Both Road Traffic and Road Work Are Both On The Rise

Everyone once in a while we get road notifications about closures and whatnot, and to be honest with Interstate 20/59 I stopped paying attention to a lot of them a long time ago.

I've lived in Tuscaloosa since 2004. I believe some part of 20/59 between here and Birmingham has been under construction that entire time.

But I digress.

I did happen to notice the latest one, though, that there will again be lane closures near Skyland Boulevard, specifically in regards to the Interstate 20/59 bridge at Exit 76. Construction crews will be installing the final girders for the rebuilt overpass, so the road will be closed going in both directions.

I thought you all might want to see the progress, so I headed down there to check it out.

However, it wasn't the road work that got my attention. It was the road itself and the traffic.

Unlike on the University of Alabama campus, where things remain quiet outside of the ongoing construction, it was almost, dare I say, normal?

I get that people don't want to be cooped up, and people are venturing out more and more. However to me this was also the result of something else, the weather.

It's been absolutely gorgeous.

Today the high is 70 degrees after a cold front went through, and the forecasted low is 41 on Saturday. Granted, it's a little chilly with the wind, but we all know in the near future we'll have 90-degree temperatures and stifling humidity.

Will the traffic continue to increase? I don't know.

But I do know that everyone's lawns look terrific, and I suddenly miss having The Masters, or at least a baseball game, on TV.