DOTHAN, Ala. – Dothan residents expressed support for Highway 84 West corridor plans after attending a public meeting to get an up-close look at proposed changes to the roadway.
The main changes include adding an additional lane from Flowers Chapel Road to John D. Odom Road and improving access between the westbound and eastbound lanes.
Ian Finch, a resident in a neighborhood off Highway 84, said he came to the meeting because he was concerned about the access management changes.
“With the new access management, people are going to be losing some freedom – access with the median,” Public Works Director Charles Metzger said. “We’re taking some of that away and adding left-turns and U-turn type movements, similar to what we’ve done on Montgomery Highway. It’s much safer.”
The crossover between the westbound and eastbound lanes west of Woodburn Drive will be decommissioned in favor of U-turns and left-turn access onto Woodburn Drive.
“After looking at the plans, I’m totally on board,” Finch said. “The extra lane will definitely help with traffic flow… sometimes when we’re coming out of our neighborhood, we get stuck and coming down, the lights don’t quite sync up so it can get backed up.”
Metzger said others he spoke to during the meeting also gave positive feedback to the project plans and were happy about the highway’s ability to handle extra capacity once the extra lane is in place.
