At last, Hwy. 157

THE ISSUE

After 50 years of talk and fitful construstion, Alabama 157 is four-laned from Muscle Shoals to I-65 near Cullman. The ridiculously long construction project presents a strong argument for establishing a transportation commission in Alabama.

First, let's rejoice that Alabama 157 has finally been four-laned from the Shoals to I-65. It's been a long time coming.

Second, let's recognize that the delays in the project were caused by the political whims of successive gubernatorial administrations that rewarded supporters and punished enemies.

The first paving began in the late 1950s, after Gov. Jim Folsom Sr.'s administration bought most of the right-of-way needed for the project. But it became a two-lane project because of changes in federal highway standards, which required more land and money. So, after the 56-mile highway was two-laned, nothing happened for years. Then, in the early 1980s, citing increased traffic counts, contracts were let to begin the four-laning. That took another 30 years of start-and-stop work, often predicated by who held the governor's office.

In Alabama, an archaic system of prioritizing highway construction has been in place for decades, giving the governor undue influence over where transportation dollars are spent. The governor appoints the director of the Department of Transportation, who is beholden only to the governor. Under this patronage system, road projects in the Shoals and elsewhere have fallen victim to raw politics at times. Fortunately, Gov. Don Siegelman committed to finishing Alabama 157 during his term by placing the remaining two-lane sections under contract. Then, his successor, current Gov. Bob Riley, honored those contracts, which led to last week's completion of the work at a cost of $161.5 million. Most of the cost was incurred since 2000 at much higher prices than when work began.

Former DOT director Mack Roberts, who served under three governors, admitted that politics played as much a role in where money was spent as did need. Others say need often wasn't even a factor.

Clearly, this is a rotten way to spend tax money. There have been calls through the years to establish a transportation commission that would appoint a director, removing some of the politics from road construction. Sen. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, has long been an advocate of a commission. Gov. Bob Riley has said he supports a commission, but it has not been atop his legislative agenda in more than five years in office. There is disagreement about who would appoint the commission, which is a serious sticking point in passing legislation for the commission. Riley wants to appoint all the commissioners while legislators want a say in selecting some of the commissioners.

These differences need to be resolved and a commission established. The way we've been building roads in Alabama is a disgrace.