ALDOT expands the ASAP assistance program along I-20/59 in Tuscaloosa

As construction continues on Interstate 20/59, state road officials have extended a free assistance program for motorists in the Tuscaloosa area.

The Alabama Department of Transportation has announced that its Alabama Service and Assistance Patrol (ASAP) program in Tuscaloosa will now extend between Exit 68 – the Joe Mallisham Parkway, or Tuscaloosa-Northport Western Bypass exit – and Exit 89, which leads to and from Mercedes Boulevard.

ASAP drivers also will be out and active between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday-Friday to help motorists in need.

“I-20/59 is a heavily traveled corridor and vital to commerce,” said John McWilliams, spokesman for ALDOT’s West Central Region, when the ASAP service first launched in 2018, “so it’s important that we provide a service that improves safety, traffic flow and reduces incident duration times.”

Both the new area and the times, which began Thursday, are extensions on the previous parameters that had ASAP assistants bound by the Interstate 359 exit and available weekdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

ASAP drivers are routinely looking for issues on the interstate, but if needed, motorists can request assistance during operating hours by calling 205-348-5198.

Services provided include changing a flat tire, jump-starting a battery, providing water for an overheated vehicle and providing a limited amount of gasoline.

Though ASAP is not a vehicle towing service, it can help motorists get to a safe place.

The vehicles used by ASAP drivers – white pick-up truck with green ASAP logos placed along the sides and emergency lights on top – are outfitted with traffic cones, push bumpers, a mobile weather station, a 15,000-pound winch, five cameras that feed to the traffic management center, and other special equipment.

To work for the service, ASAP drivers complete a National Traffic Incident Management Responder Program and other training and certification programs in preparation for their work.

They also work with law enforcement and other emergency responders for greater efficiency and effectiveness, McWilliams said.

ALDOT first introduced the ASAP service in Birmingham in 1997 and added the program in Mobile about 10 years later.

In 2017, the program was installed in Montgomery before it arrived in Tuscaloosa the following year.

ALDOT plans to launch the ASAP program on Interstate 65 in Chilton County later this spring.

For further information, visit www.dot.state.al.us.

Reach Jason Morton at jason. morton@tuscaloosanews.com.