Some people might think the road construction that will connect Alabama 75 to Alabama 79 is a highway to nowhere.

Michael Staley says those people couldn’t be more wrong. The executive director of the Coalition for Regional Transportation said the first leg of the long-discussed Northern Beltline is the road to greater prosperity and development in northern Jefferson County.

It is also the bridge between otherwise isolated residents of northern Jefferson County and emergency medical aid.

“I think about folks that live in southern Blount County (and remote parts of Jefferson County) being able to get to Gardendale to an emergency room or a hospital or to get acute care in 10 minutes instead of 30,” Staley said, “it is not nothing.”

The CRT executive director spoke Tuesday to remind the Jefferson County Commission that the Northern Beltline is not a pipe dream. It is a very real project that now has money earmarked to benefit the northern part of the county the way Interstate 459 benefited the county’s southern portion.

Staley said the Northern Beltline is a project that experienced a funding lapse. Now, he said, that funding has been restored.

“Many people in the public perceive that there’s no funding, or that the project is not under construction,” he said. “I would submit to you that it is actually proceeding because of the funding. That’s because of the strong support from everyone ranging from the Jefferson County Councilors Coalition to the Mayor’s Association to this Jefferson County Commission.”

Staley said municipal leadership in Hueytown, Sylvan Springs and Gardendale recently passed resolutions affirming their support of the project. He added that Adamsville, Graysville and Pleasant Grove have expressed interest in chiming in with their support.

During its committee meeting Tuesday, the County Commission moved to the agenda of Thursday’s meeting a resolution affirming its support of the Northern Beltline.

Staley said the eventual impact of the road construction is “almost immeasurable.”

“We’re the only city of our size that doesn’t have a loop interstate around the whole city in the metro area,” he said. “There are areas in Jefferson County that are isolated, that really don’t have good access to the interstate.”

Staley said the Northern Beltline could be as impactful for northern Jefferson County as I-459 has been for places like Liberty Park, The Summit or Acton Road.

“You could go past the Galleria through McCalla, straight up to Gardendale and then straight across to Trussville,” he said. “There would be numerous opportunities for major development to happen and there’s a lot of undeveloped land that could be neighborhoods, could be schools, could be shopping centers and other types of economic development projects that are all part of the Appalachian Development Highway System.”

The Northern Beltline is a part of the Appalachian Development Highway System. It was created in 1965 in part to connect rural Appalachian areas to interstates.

“We’re getting funding from the federal government for this project that cannot be spent anywhere else,” Staley said. “There is no reason to have anything but excitement about what that does for my baby boys (twins Matthew and George) that are 10 months old and my 5-year-old (Ryan). I believe that the project will be transformational for this region.”

The Northern Beltline has been the subject of debate recently as a developer is looking to build a data center in Bessemer. That data center appears to be on the route of the beltline.

Staley said both projects can coexist in that space.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said. “My full understanding is that there’s no reason those projects can’t coexist. My group that supports the Northern Beltline also supports Bessemer having that data center.

“We’re very excited to think of the prospect of resolving that conflict,” Staley said. “We’re confident that it can get worked out if we can just have some discussions.”

The initial section of the Northern Beltline is being built between Alabama 75 and Alabama 79 in north Jefferson County. Staley said that section is very close to being completed and open for traffic to drive on it, perhaps in the next calendar year.

“That’s because ALDOT (Alabama Department of Transportation) has moved quickly to finish that section,” he said.

“The public perception is that that thing’s dead,” Staley said. “But with a section opening to traffic, that’s going to change (the perception) rapidly. We’ve got to show progress on the construction that’s happening because ALDOT is moving the project.”