WASHINGTON — Like most of his constituents, U.S. Rep. Dale Strong has had enough of mail deliveries not making it on time in North Alabama and is working to fix the problem.
The congressman said he has formally requested the U.S. Postal Service invest in a new Processing and Distribution Facility in Huntsville.
In a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, Strong (R-Monrovia) said his office had received a “substantial volume” of complaints from constituents “voicing their experiences with shortcomings of the once reliable USPS system.”
Huntsville, once home to its own distribution facility on Wall-Triana Highway, saw its operations consolidated to Birmingham in 2011, a fact Strong noted in his letter to the USPS chief.
According to Strong, the root cause of mail delivery issues stems from the Birmingham distribution facility lacking the capacity to efficiently serve North Alabama residents. In fact, mail from this area is routed through Birmingham – even if it’s from one resident to a neighbor next door.
“Most Postal Service issues reported to my office involve the timeliness of priority mail and package processing in the Birmingham P&DF,” Strong wrote. “Post Office clerks from various locations in my district have communicated to constituents that these delays are solely due to mail being lost or stalled in Birmingham because the facility is lacking the operational capacity to process the current volume of mail.”
In making his case, Strong noted that since the 2010 census, the population of Huntsville and Madison County has grown by 36% and 23%, respectively.
“I believe the case volume submitted through my office alone suggests that the serious shortcomings of the Birmingham P&DF are not isolated incidents, but a result of an overburdened postal system,” he wrote. “Claimed investments from the Postal Service in Alabama have not improved operations. Therefore, I am calling for a change of course, with the investment of a new P&DF in Huntsville.”
Strong requested the postmaster general provide a written response to his office that the congressman can share with his constituents.
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