Report says economic benefits of Birmingham's Northern Beltline exaggerated | al.com

Report says economic benefits of Birmingham's Northern Beltline exaggerated | al.com: BIRMINGHAM, Alabama --- The economic benefits of a planned interstate beltline north of Birmingham have been exaggerated and oversold, according to a new analysis by the Chattanooga-based Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies.
The study was commissioned by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents Black Warrior Riverkeeper, a Birmingham-based environmental group that has sued the Alabama Department of Transportation. The lawsuit claims that the agency has not followed federal regulations requiring a thorough examination of the social and environmental impacts of the 52-mile Beltline, which is projected to cost $4.7 billion over more than three decades of building.
Beltline supporters, predict that the project will create 70,000 jobs during the construction phase and 21,000 permanent jobs in a new suburban ring around the city.