Let’s start by stating the obvious: I’m no Bobby Troup and Alabama Route 181’s no US Route 66. But what Troup did with Route 66, I’m going to do for Route 181: take you on a trip up this Eastern Shore arterial from its start near Weeks Bay to its end at the Eastern Shore Center.
And why, might you ask, is AL 181 (old County Road 27) worth this attention? That’s easy. Route 66 connected the LA of the west coast with the rest of the country and AL 181 does the same for our LA of the south coast. And not only that: AL 181 is a hurricane evacuation route, the road designated to relieve congestion on US 98, and the most direct way to get to the new, big, shopping center.
And that’s were we’re going, so follow along as I drive and describe the trip.
We’re starting on US 98 down by Weeks Bay, turning north onto the last bit of County 27 left and hooking up with the southern end of 181. On the way, we pass acreage for sale for a residential subdivision – our first sign of large-scale development. Ahead are some estate-sized parcels with big houses set well back – rural elegance with lots of open space. The County Road 24 intersection is followed by some grittier roadside activities: a dirt and gravel operation, but opposite on the left: 73 acres for sale. Cleared and awaiting development.
Just up the road on the other side, a big piece of open land has recently been sold. And a little further on, an even larger tract is advertised for sale. Although there aren’t many new houses going up right now, it sure looks like farm land is giving way to suburban development at a fast clip.
Ahead on the left are Silverwood and Gaineswood, two older subdivisions, and coming up, County Road 32 with its cluster of commercial buildings. Down 32 to the east is the Fish River; to the west, a school and a couple more residential developments. While just ahead is more available acreage – big FOR SALE sign on it. A small subdivision, Woodmere, is on the right, with another commercial node on the left, then woods on both sides. Over the hill, a big new development: Stone Creek. Then a scattering of small businesses giving way to Quail Run, Quail Creek and Jackson Place.
As we approach the traffic light at Fairhope Avenue, on the right is 50 cleared acres with a huge Wal-Mart Super-Center under construction. Looks like it will be a neighborhood and traffic pattern changing event when the mega-store opens later this year. There are two or three new subdivisions going in along Fairhope in each direction. Ditto for the area around the Gayfer Avenue intersection that’s just ahead. Hundreds of new homes; lots of additional traffic
Next up, County Road 104. We’re stopped momentarily for the red light, giving us a chance to contemplate the impact of the 500-plus home subdivision going in about a mile down 104 to the east.
Ahead, a new hot location: The Waters subdivision. Then a few fields belonging to the Corte family and a bit further, Old Field – a new subdivision built on the family’s old fields. Then Bellaton (lots of houses) and just beyond, a new phase with new grand entrance and arched bridge – leading to dirt right now, but roads and houses soon.
As we go north, development is accelerating, while our speed is slowing. Lots of stops for construction vehicles and left turns with no turn lanes. Stop and go. There’s a traffic light at County Road 64 and it takes two cycles to get through, but the slowdown gives me a chance to wave to old Mr. Simms in the doorway of his 1950s era hardware store. A bit of local color, likely soon extinct. But we’re moving again with subdivisions galore in sight. Belgrove, then two new ones, side by side: Landsdown and Rileywood, followed by Plantation Estates. Land for sale on both sides as we approach the “four lane” in Historic Malbis. The new Lowes is diagonally opposite us as we wait for the light to change at US 90; next to it, Sam’s Club, under construction, with spots for two auto dealerships close by the Interstate. And just over the crest of the I-10 overpass, our destination – The Eastern Shore Center.
In addition to actually going to the Eastern Shore Center for a haircut, I went through all this to bring up three issues relating to AL 181. First, there is enormous, almost unconstrained growth taking place along this Eastern Shore thoroughfare. Second, the road is already stressed by the current traffic density. On this 20-mile, mid-afternoon trip, I could attain an average speed of only 40 mph – well below the posted speed limits. And third, to remind everybody that AL 181 is still just a narrow two-lane blacktop for nearly its entire length. It’s like Mr. Simms’ store: a relic of the 1950s. But while his place is quaint, the road is inadequate and just plain dangerous.
The state has plans to widen it to four lanes with a median for left turns; I saw drawings of this over a year ago, but not a shovelful of dirt has been moved so far. I don’t hear much noise from any of our elected officials concerning this situation, so I guess we’ll just have to wait for gridlock to occur on AL 181 before anybody feels a sense of urgency to do something about it.
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
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