During a Senate hearing last week to review President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2027 transportation budget, U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, highlighted the importance of the Birmingham Northern Beltline to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the senator’s Friday press release said.
“We have a number of projects in Alabama where we want to see those roads continue to be elevated so that people and products can move safer and more expeditiously across them,” Britt said, mentioning the Northern Beltline specifically in her comments to Duffy.
The Coalition for Regional Transportation commended the senator for her continued work in support of the Northern Beltline.
“Senator Britt understands how transformational the Northern Beltline will be for our region’s future,” Michael Staley, executive director of the coalition, said. “Her leadership and continued advocacy have helped secure critical funding for this project, and we’re grateful for her strong support as construction continues moving forward. The Northern Beltline will open up multiple new economic development opportunities for communities all along the corridor.”
The first segment of the Northern Beltline is expected to open to traffic later this year, completing a connection between State Routes 75 and 79 in Pinson.
Once completed, the Northern Beltline will become Interstate 422, a 52-mile interstate connecting Interstate 59 in northeast Jefferson County to the Interstate 459 interchange near Bessemer. The project is designed to help drive economic development, improve regional traffic flow and provide faster access for first responders serving surrounding communities.
More than $570 million in federal funding has been secured for the Northern Beltline to date.
During a visit to the Northern Beltline construction site in May 2025, Britt said, “The Birmingham Northern Beltline is a crucial project not just for local communities but for our state and for the entire region.”
