Montgomery, AL – Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr. wants to create a commission to study how to finance and build a freeway from the Florence area to the Mobile area.
Folsom says people have been discussing the need for a freeway down the west side of the state since he was a child and it's time to do something. Folsom is proposing a commission appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. It would explore both public and private financing and will report to the Legislature next February.
The Democratic lieutenant governor announced his proposed commission at a news conference with 17 Democratic and Republican legislators. It will be up to the Legislature to vote to create the commission.
Republican Sen. Rusty Glover of Semmes said the proposed highway would provide Alabama's coast with better access to the Midwest.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)