codyg1985’s Think Tank

This Daily Mountain Eagle story hits the nail on the head about what Walker County and surrouding counties need to do to take advantage of future I-22 when it is completed. Some people realize that we need more than a bunch of service and retail jobs in Walker County, and I am happy that the issue of a qualified labor force is being addressed.

Growth will not come overnight from I-22. A lot of local leaders seem to think that the interstate will magically create a boom in this area that will rival the growth seen on the other side of Birmingham. There has been a couple of industries that have located to Bevill Industrial Park in Jasper as a result of I-22, but there has not been an increase in residential development as a result of the interstate. When the interstate is completed to I-65 in Birmingham, land will be more accessible for development and cheaper than land in other parts of Metro Birmingham. One would think that subdivisions would already be proposed or under construction in anticipation of the completion of I-22, but I have not heard of or seen dirt being moved near the interstate for this purpose.

Why isn’t Jasper, Cordova, Sumiton, Graysville, and Adamsville not getting proposal after proposal for subdivisions when soon it will be cheaper to live there and quicker to get to downtown Birmingham from those locations? Maybe the area has a bad reputation with many people, and that drives people away. It is estimated that Walker County did lose population betwen 2000 and 2005. Not a large loss number-wise, but percentage-wise it was the largest loss in all of the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area.

I have not said too much about this, but I have believed all along that I-22 will present a double-edged sword for Walker and Marion counties. While the interstate will open the two counties up, it will also make Birmingham an easier destination to travel to–more people can commute to Birmingham from farther away in northwest Alabama. This is a great thing for the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan area as a whole, yes, but for Walker and Marion Counties, it means that the job market will shift more to Jefferson County where a larger and more qualified labor force can be tapped. If the jobs stay in Jefferson County, then perhaps it would be better if people moved there to get to those jobs. If local leaders don’t leave the mindset that I-22 alone will just magically start the growth machine, then we are all in for a rude awakening.

As a student, I would love to live here the rest of my life. It is a nice place to live. However, there are no opportunities in Walker County for college graduates. As the article mentioned, Bevill State is turning out technical and nursing graduates all the time, and more will be turned out in the future at a faster rate. Perhaps there will be jobs in Walker County for those technicians and nurses to take when they graduate. Maybe one day more engineering positions can be filled in Walker County. Okay, maybe that’s a bit too much for now. But if the demand for new industry is sustained, then anything is possible here.