Judy Justin makes the white-knuckle drive from South Huntsville to Athens each day on busy U.S. 72.

“I really think it’s a death trap with all the entrances along the road,” said Justin, who on weekdays has to drive to the Limestone County Schools’ Central Office where she is an administrative assistant to the superintendent. “It is not unusual for a tractor to pull out in front of you and go 20 mph.”

She thinks widening the four-lane, undivided highway would help.

State Sen. Tom Butler, D-Madison, sees it as the only real solution.

“It needs to be widened from Huntsville through Athens,” Butler said. “Growth from the Base Realignment and Closure act and other new jobs will increase traffic volume. It will be one of the many problems we will have to work on for now and the future.”

Since 2005, new businesses have popped up along the Limestone County portion of U.S. 72 like toadstools after a summer rain – Holiday Inn Express, Chick-fil-A, Logan’s Roadhouse, Ruby Tuesday, Starbucks, Bojangles Chicken ’n Biscuits, Lenny’s Subs, Zaxby’s and French Farms shopping center.

Coming soon is East Side Junction at the intersection of Lindsay Lane and U.S. 72, a 128,000 square-foot shopping center anchored by Publix grocery.

The same has been true in Madison. Subdivisions also keep sprouting up.

“Traffic has absolutely gotten worse,” Justin said. “I noticed that it began to get heavier in 2006.”

The worst stretch of road, she said, is between Lindsay Lane and through Madison, particularly the area just before and after County Line Road – which is the border of Limestone and Madison counties.

Justin has taken measures to try to adapt.

“Many days I use Interstate 565 just to stay off of U.S. 72,” she said.

In addition to avoiding the swarm, she listens to music or audio books to reduce the stress of driving to work and back.

U.S. 72, a federal route that runs mainly across farmland between Huntsville and Florence, except where it passes through Athens, is four lanes in most places in the state.

But too much traffic and too much speed make it a hazard.