MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Gov. Robert Bentley says he fully supports a decision by the state Department of Transportation to widen a stretch of U.S. 431 through Eufaula’s historic district to four lanes.
Bentley said Wednesday the widening will cause little to no interruption to the historical nature of the street that is lined with homes from the 1800s. Opponents say it will wreck the historic district’s character and they plan to sue.
The department is planning to remove three feet from each side of the medians running down the middle of the street and have four lanes of traffic rather than two. Transportation Director John Cooper says his department is doing the widening with 11-foot lanes rather than the normal 12-foot lanes for a major U.S. highway to save more of the medians.