CITY OF HOOVER MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER TO NEW INTERCHANGE OFF I-459
The City of Hoover moved one step closer to the construction of a new interchange off of Interstate 459 this week. Tuesday night, the Hoover City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation that outlines how the new interchange will be built. It will be located south of the South Shades Crest Road overpass.
The estimated cost of the project is $120 million. The City will be responsible for approximately half of that.
The interchange would lessen traffic congestion in several areas of west Hoover including John Hawkins Parkway and South Shades Crest Road. The interchange will include two ramps on each side of the interstate and a bridge over the interstate.
Talks of this project began nearly twenty years ago. Now that Hoover has approved its portion of the agreement, ALDOT and Governor Kay Ivey must sign off on it, too. There are also some environmental impact studies that must ultimately be approved by the Federal Highway Administration.
HOOVER POLICE TRAINING CENTER MAKING A NATIONAL IMPACT
When the City of Hoover built the Frank and Pam Barefield Training Center for the Hoover Police Department, the vison for it's impact was big.
"The goal was to have a central place where we could train ourselves, but one that we could also open up to departments throughout the state of Alabama and to other states. And so far we have done a great job, says Hoover Police Chief, Nick Derzis.
Built in 2021, the Center was getting on its feet that first year as the US still struggled to fight Covid 19. But in 2022, activity at the Center took off.
- In 2022, over 550 sworn personnel and civilians attended training at the Center
- Numerous state, regional and national law enforcement agencies/organizations conducted training at the Center
- The Center hosted government delegations from two different countries (Hungary and Maldives)
Frank Goff, a retired detective who served 32 years with the Chicago Police Department's Violent Crimes Unit taught a class which 24 LEOs from across the state. 22 of those students have signed up to come back in 2023.
"When you talk about street crimes in Chicago which has a population that surpasses the Birmingham Metro several times--this guy is certainly bringing in information that we can utilize in Alabama," Derzis says.
Numerous instructors mentioned how impressed they were with the Hoover facility. One instructor, after completing his class, immediately scheduled another for 2023.
"Our trainers are constantly talking to people all over the country that put on seminars and so forth. And once they see the facility itself, they certainly want to come," Derzis explains.
"And as far as police training, once a department finds out they've got a good place to go, and with Alabama and the Hoover Metro area in a central location, especially in the Southeast, a lot of departments from Georgia or Florida, Louisiana, love to come over."
One of the greatest benefits to the HPD is that the department has been able to receive over $28,000 in free training for hosting classes at the Center.
"We wanted to build something that we would be able to utilize, but we also thought it would be a great opportunity to bring people from other places that put on trainings. Then our people - instead of having to send people off for training, they sleep in their own beds at night and we're getting it for free," Derzis comments.
"So it's, it's probably done that maybe a little bit quicker than what I thought it would do. I knew it would happen, but this is probably quicker than what I thought it would begin.
http://www.hooveralabama.gov/.../Hoover-Senior-Center...
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