From The Official Website of the Alabama Department of Commerce

JASPER, Alabama – Segments of Corridor X – the roadway that will become Alabama’s next interstate – are so new they don’t show up on some GPS devices. But economic developers like David Knight and David Thornell believe that ribbon of asphalt will make Northwest Alabama appealing for new development.

Corridor X, or Interstate 22, as it will be known, connects Birmingham and Memphis. It’s been under development for decades, and will be completed in 2014 when the Alabama Department of Transportation completes an intricate interchange that connects it to I-65 near Birmingham. The roadway will get the interstate designation at that time.

  “The real story is not just I-22 in Jasper, or I-22 in Walker County, but what it means to all of Northwest Alabama. It is creating opportunity for us that we didn’t have before,” said Knight, executive director of Walker County Economic Development Authority in Jasper.

“Once it’s connected to I-65, it will be the newest interstate in the nation and will be a major artery that connects with all the major cities of the Southeast,” added Thornell, who heads the C3 of Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance. “It’s literally going to put us on the map. We have high hopes and high expectations.”