The work to widen an additional eight-mile stretch of I-65 in Shelby County has reached another milestone.
Monday and Tuesday, ALDOT shifted traffic onto 1.5 miles of newly constructed inside lanes in both directions between US-31 in Calera (Exit 231) and CR-87 (Exit 234).
This allows contractor Dunn Construction to finish replacing the old bridges over the CSX railroad tracks and complete any outside widening.
This significant progress falls in the southernmost phase of the overall job to add a third lane to I-65 from Exit 231 up through Exit 238 in Alabaster.
Further north, McInnis Construction is grading the future third lane from Buck Creek to Old US-31. They are also building support structures under existing bridges to go with substructure work for the new bridges.
Chilton Contractors began work on the middle section by shifting lanes between Exit 234 and Buck Creek in October. The group’s median grading and inside lane foundation work grow closer to completion.
The overall project should help ease congestion through southern Shelby County and provide better first responder access on the new, wider bridges.
The newly widened stretch of I-65 from Alabaster to Calera is on schedule to be fully open to traffic by Spring 2028.
ALDOT wants to thank community stakeholders for their help and motorists for their ongoing patience during these new phases of this highly impactful interstate project.
