FOLEY, Ala — Foley Civic Center will be the site today for a public hearing in connection with a long awaited connector between Interstate 10 and Interstate 65 that has major ramifications for a hurricane evacuation route for one.

The public hearing will be conducted by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 407 E. Laurel Ave.

Another public hearing will be held Thursday in Bay Minette City Council Chambers at 301 D’Olive St. from 5p.m. to 7 p.m.

On Monday, Foley City Council approved a resolution endorsing the Baldwin County Commission’s proposal for the construction of the County Road 83 thoroughfare along the 21-mile stretch from I-10 north to I-65. The resolution also opposes an ALDOT connector route between I-10 and I-65 which, for one, situates the corridor farther away from the 3,000-acre “Mega Site” where Hybrid Kinetic Motors Corp. is planning to build a manufacturing plant just south of I-65.

The Foley resolution notes the County Road 83 proposal is situated adjacent to the so-called “Mega Site.”

Earlier this year cities within Baldwin County wrote letters of support for the Commission’s Federal Transportation Reauthorization funding request. The cost to construct the four-lane thoroughfare over the 21 miles is projected at $106 million, while a two-lane road is projected at $64 million.

In their letters to Commissioner David Bishop, chairman of the Baldwin County Commission, Mayor Marvin Williams of Elberta and John Koniar of Foley cited support for either a two- or four-lane road. The mayors also noted that besides a hurricane evacuation route, the thoroughfare would also serve as an economic development corridor in a county that sees more than $2 billion annually in tourist-related spending.

Vincent Calametti, division engineer for ALDOT in Mobile, said the route ALDOT is proposing is very close to the one proposed by the Baldwin County Commission until it hits County Road 31 east of Bay Minette.

In comments on Tuesday, Calametti said he hopes to hear lots of comments at today’s public hearing regardless of the side people take on the issue.

“We just want to know what the public wants,” he said.