My name is Leah Cavender. I have lived along Highway 171 N in Winfield for the majority of my life. Recently, Governor Kay Ivey announced a project to make SR-171 a divided 4-lane road from Fayette to I-22. This plan puts a plethora of homes along this road at risk of destruction, including my own.

After this plan was announced, I drove SR-171 from the proposed start to end, and there are at least four churches, five small businesses, and several acres of farmland that are also at risk of destruction. This plan has promised to help bring economic growth to the city of Fayette, but after two of the hardest economic years we have seen as a country, we think the solution is to displace even more people?

There is no guarantee that this new construction will even create the economic growth promised, but it is guaranteed to take land and homes from families that have lived here for generations. Several people have pointed out that SR-13, which connects Tuscaloosa to I-22 through Eldridge, is already a preferred route by truckers. SR-13 already has a large ROW owned by the state from when they expanded it many years ago. The state would have an easier time widening this road not only due to its straighter path, but also for the lowered ROW the state would have to acquire. 

My entire family has lived along SR-171 for three generations. My grandmother raised my mother and her two sisters on this road before building the house I have known as her's my entire life. My aunt and uncle have built the beautiful log cabin that everyone recognizes along this route where they has raised three children. My mother and I have lived both in Carter Estates off of the route and where we live currently next to our family. There's always the chance that the engineers decide the side of the road across from ours will be a better choice, but I don't wish the families that live on the other side this hardship either. 

I am asking you to sign this petition in order for this route to be stopped. As I have mentioned, there are several livelihoods at stake, and there's a clear better path for the state to take in order to achieve their goal.