HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mayor Tommy Battle used Huntsville’s yearly state of the city address on Monday, Nov. 9, to ask the state and federal governments to pay for the next round of major road projects, and to announce a new public planning effort called The BIG Picture – Next Generation.
Battle spoke to a crowd of business and community leaders in the Saturn Ballroom at the Von Braun Center. It was his 18th address. Huntsville has grown into Alabama’s biggest city, ranking 94th nationally with a population above 250,000. The mayor said the aim was never simply to be the biggest, but to shape what the city becomes.
On transportation, Battle said the city has put its own tax dollars into a state partnership called Restore Our Roads, run with ALDOT, that has helped push about half a billion dollars in road work forward, including on routes that belong to the state and federal governments. He said it is now time for those governments to contribute. He named three priorities: pushing I-565 further east to Shields Road, a rebuilt interchange where I-565 meets Memorial Parkway, and more lanes on the western stretch of U.S. 72.
Some projects are moving. The Mastin Lake Overpass opened this year, the second phase of Martin Road is close to finished, the western part of the Northern Bypass is on track for 2027, and design continues on its eastern section.
The new BIG Picture effort follows the original planning process launched about a decade ago, which shaped city projects such as parks, housing and arts developments and efforts to attract retailers. Residents should expect the first meetings and input sessions in 2027.
Battle also pointed to Redstone Arsenal, whose roughly 45,000 employees generated a $36.2 billion economic impact over the past year, including a $3.2 billion payroll. He welcomed the commander of U.S. Space Command, whose headquarters is coming to the arsenal, and noted the arrival of a $6 billion Eli Lilly facility. He also cited the teardown of Madison Square Mall and its replacement by the MidCity district as examples of change over the past decade, and mentioned upcoming work on Resolute Way and access to Gate 9.
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