Editing Tuscaloosa, Alabama (section)

===Transportation===
[[Image:Tuscaloosa Alabama Amtrak Station.jpg|thumb|The [[Tuscaloosa station|Tuscaloosa Amtrak Station]] in 2003. The station is located one mile south of downtown Tuscaloosa.]]
Tuscaloosa is connected to other parts of the country via air, rail, road and sea. The city lies at the intersection of several highways, including three [[U.S. Highway system|federal highways]] ([[U.S. Route 11 in Alabama|US 11]], [[US 43 (AL)|US 43]], and [[US 82 (AL)|US 82]]), three Alabama state highways ([[State Route 69 (Alabama)|SR 69]], [[State Route 215 (Alabama)|SR 215]], and [[State Route 216 (Alabama)|SR 216]]) and two duplexed (conjoined) [[Interstate Highway|Interstates]] ([[Interstate 20 (Alabama)|I-20]]/[[Interstate 59 (Alabama)|I-59]]). [[Interstate 359]] spurs off from I-20/I-59 and heads northward, ending in downtown Tuscaloosa.

Tuscaloosa also contains one toll road on the Black Warrior Parkway (I-20/I-59), charging $1.25 for automobiles, and one toll bridge (Black Warrior Parkway bridge).

====Rail====
[[Amtrak]] provides passenger rail service to Tuscaloosa though the [[Crescent (Amtrak)|Crescent]] line, which connects the area to major cities along the east coast from New York City to New Orleans. [[Tuscaloosa station]] is situated at 2105 Greensboro Avenue, one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) south of downtown. [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] and [[Alabama Southern Railroad]] provide freight services to the area. [[Kansas City Southern Railway|KCS]] previously provided service to the area before leasing its lines to [[Watco]] in July 2005.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20050722/ai_n14807855 |work=The Journal Record (Oklahoma City) |title=Kansas City Southern Railway leases five of its branch lines |year=2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113183305/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20050722/ai_n14807855 |archive-date=January 13, 2016}}</ref>

====Bus====
[[Greyhound Bus Lines]] provides passenger bus service to Tuscaloosa. The [[Tuscaloosa Transit Authority]] operates the Tuscaloosa Trolley System while the University of Alabama operates a separate bus service known as [[CrimsonRide]]. The Tuscaloosa Trolley provides local public bus transportation with four fixed routes that operate Monday through Friday from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm. The trolley's paint job is an illusion; it is an El Dorado Transmark RE bus, painted to look like a trolley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uatrolley.org/door/ |title=Tuscaloosa Transit Authority |access-date=February 4, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206220110/http://www.uatrolley.org/door/ |archive-date=December 6, 2007}}</ref>

====Airport====
The Tuscaloosa National Airport (KTCL) is 3.5 miles northwest of Tuscaloosa in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Owned and operated by the City of Tuscaloosa, the airport is an FAA-designated National General Aviation Airport and Part 139 Certified. Tuscaloosa National Airport covers 826 acres at an elevation of 170’ including two runways: Runway 4/22 is 6,499’ x 150’ and 12/30 is 4,000’ by 100’. Primary services provided by the airport include supporting annual collegiate athletic charters, freight charters in support of the local automotive and industrial community, flight training, transient operations, game day operations, aircraft maintenance, medical services and military flights. The Tuscaloosa National Airport provides an overall $48.6 million annual economic impact for the region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tuscaloosa National Airport (TCL) |url=http://airport.tuscaloosa.com/ |access-date=2024-07-16 |website=Tuscaloosa National Airport (TCL) |language=en}}</ref>

====Major highways====
Tuscaloosa is served by many major highways, including [[Interstate 20 in Alabama|I-20]], [[Interstate 59|I-59]], and [[U.S. Route 82]]. I-20/59 run west to east through the southern part of the city, leading northeast 58&nbsp;mi (93&nbsp;km) to Birmingham and southwest 96&nbsp;mi (154&nbsp;km) to Meridian, Mississippi. US 82 runs northwest to southeast through the city, locally known as McFarland Boulevard, and leads southeast 103&nbsp;mi (166&nbsp;km) to Montgomery, Alabama and northwest 59&nbsp;mi (95&nbsp;km) to Columbus, Mississippi. Many other state and local highways run through the city as well, in addition to a tolled bypass on the western side of the city connecting those coming from the west on US 82 to I-20/59 without going through the main part of the city.

====Port of Tuscaloosa====
The Port of Tuscaloosa is a river port located in the City of Tuscaloosa and administered by the Alabama State [[Port Authority]].[[File:CrimsonwhiteBWRtuscaloosa.png|thumb|right|The ''Crimson White'' on the Black Warrior River]]

The Black Warrior River is bounded along nearly its entire course by a series of [[Lock (water transport)|locks]] and dams. They form a chain of narrow reservoirs, providing aids to navigation and barge handling as well as [[hydroelectric power]] and drinking water. The Black Warrior River watershed is a vital river basin entirely contained within Alabama, America's leading state for freshwater [[biodiversity]]. Near Tuscaloosa, the river flows out of the rocky [[Cumberland Plateau]] and enters the sandy East [[Gulf Coastal Plain]]. Barge transportation in and out of the Port of Tuscaloosa and other commercial navigation make the Black Warrior a silent giant in the state of Alabama's economy. Although the Port of Tuscaloosa is a small one, it is one of the larger facilities on the Black Warrior River at [[waterway]] [[mile marker]] 338.5. There are no railway connections at this port as they primarily concentrate on the shipment of dry [[bulk commodities]], including [[lignite]], coal and [[coal coke]]. The federal government and the City of Tuscaloosa share the ownership of the Port of Tuscaloosa; the operation of the port is leased out to Powell Sales and has been run by them since 1997.

At waterway mile marker 343.2 on the opposite side of the river is a steel company with its own tracks at the rear of the plant connecting with the [[Kansas City Southern Railroad]] for barge shipments of iron and steel products such as [[ingots]], bars, rods, steel slabs, plates and coils. Tuscaloosa Steel Corporation was one of the first U.S. steel companies to implement the Steckel Mill Technology.

The Port of Tuscaloosa grew out of the system of locks and dams on the Black Warrior River built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1890s. Its construction opened up an inexpensive transportation link to the Gulf seaport of Mobile, Alabama that stimulated the mining and metallurgical industries of the region that are still in operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maritimelawyer-alabama.com/port-of-tuscaloosa.asp |title=Port of Tuscaloosa Accidents &#124; Offshore Injury Attorney |website=Maritimelawyer-alabama.com |access-date=May 13, 2016 |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714034805/http://www.maritimelawyer-alabama.com/port-of-tuscaloosa.asp |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] has maintained a system of locks and dams along the Black Warrior River for over a century to allow navigability all the way up to Birmingham.<ref>{{cite web|title=Black Warrior River Watershed Management Plan|url=http://www.adem.state.al.us/programs/water/nps/files/BlackWarriorBMP.pdf|work=adem.state.al.us|publisher=[[Alabama Department of Environmental Management]]|access-date=June 4, 2018|archive-date=April 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412174607/http://www.adem.state.al.us/programs/water/nps/files/BlackWarriorBMP.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Barge traffic thus routinely runs through Tuscaloosa to the Alabama State Docks at Mobile, Alabama. Via the [[Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway|Tenn-Tom Waterway]], the city is connected to the Ohio River valley and beyond.