Roadways The heart of the Huntsville–Decatur Metro Area (Huntsville, Decatur, and Madison) is linked together by the 22 mile strip of
Interstate 565. Interstate 565 begins at the eastern edge of the Decatur city limits near the interchange with
Interstate 65. At the interchange,
Alternate US 72 and
State Route 20 become a controlled access highway as it passes under Interstate 65 receiving traffic from the north – (
Nashville), and south – (
Birmingham / Decatur / Hartselle) in addition to the nearly 40,000–51,000 vehicles per day from Decatur to Huntsville on the Alternate US 72 Corridor. Plans are underway to extend Interstate 565 from the Interstate 65/Alternate US 72/State Route 20 interchange to the
US 31/State Route 20/Alternate US 72 interchange in the Limestone County portion of Decatur. Eventually the extended
Interstate Highway will cross the Tennessee River's
Wheeler Lake intersecting the once proposed Memphis to Atlanta Highway..
Huntsville/Madison roadways As
Interstate 565 passes the northern portion of the
Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Madison Boulevard (formerly
State Route 20) branches off of the interstate leading into Madison. Beyond
Madison Boulevard's convergence with Interstate 565 nine miles beyond,
Research Park Boulevard, an important north–south expressway connecting
Cummings Research Park, MidCity (a mixed used development at the location of the former Madison Square Mall), and
Redstone Arsenal, bypasses the portions of Huntsville's busier
Memorial Parkway. Interstate 565 winds past the
US Space and Rocket Center and approaches downtown as an elevated freeway. About a after the elevated portion of the interstate begins is the largest interchange in Huntsville. The
I-565/Memorial Parkway interchange carries over 150,000 vehicles a day. Memorial Parkway stretches from the Tennessee River to
Normal. The Parkway feeds the 7-lane
University Drive, also known as
US 72. Also intersecting the Parkway is the 5-lane
Governors Drive (
US 431) that serves southeast Huntsville, Hampton Cove, and Huntsville Hospital. Interstate 565 ascends Chapman Mountain, and descends the other side towards
Gurley as US 72.
Decatur roadways Decatur's main roadways are 6th Avenue – (
U.S. Route 31), and Beltline Road –
State Route 67. 6th Avenue, part of U.S. Route 31, begins as both
State Route 20/
Alternate US 72, and US 31 are carved out of the
"Steamboat Bill" Hudson Memorial Bridge that crosses the Tennessee River at the north central part of town. AL 20/Alt US 72 continues west towards
The Shoals, after The Beltline begins in the vicinity of the
Solutia plant. After the Tennessee River bridges 6th Avenue continues southward where it eventually intersects with The Beltline. After that intersection, 6th Avenue continues southward now under the name of
Decatur Highway towards Hartselle and
Birmingham. The Beltline was built as a western bypass to reduce congestion on 6th Avenue. The area around the Beltline experienced rapid growth, causing additional traffic problems. The city's approach to this was to widen the road to six lanes, which was to be completed by 2010. ==Economy==