Huntsville updates

[chris21718]

I tend to use the term "Snellvillization" to refer to a 4-lane highway filling up with red lights. US 78 through Snellville, GA is a famous example, and now US 72 from Huntsville through Madison is getting that way. The solution is "put up another red light at another intersection" which makes the problem worse instead of better. Widening US 72 to 6 lanes from Huntsville to Athens will not solve the traffic light problem. More traffic lights will continue to be put up as years go by. Look at University Drive from US 231 westward to the mall. More lights were added after the 6-laning was done, the the same would happen through Madison and toward Athens.

As for the massively different grades of US 72, I notice that Alabama often leaves the existing 2 lane road intact and builds the 2 new lanes on one side. The new lanes will have gentler hills than the old lanes, making the median slope from one to the other to make up for the difference. I notice this on parts of the stretch from Athens to Florence and on the stretch between Scottsboro and Stevenson (which was 2-lane when I first drove it).