The long-discussed "Southern Bypass" in Huntsville has taken a baby step away from the drawing board and inching toward becoming reality.

The limited access highway will connect I-565 near the eastern side of Redstone Arsenal to the Whitesburg Bridge across the Tennessee River in south Huntsville.

Overall, it's a project that could approach $1 billion, according to Shane Davis, the city of Huntsville's director of urban and economic development. And it's a long-term project with multiple phases that likely won't see completion for decades.

For now, though, Davis said funding is in place for the first phase – connecting I-565 with the arsenal’s Gate 10 at Patton Road. The city council on Thursday approved $564,650 to combine with federal money to fund more than $2.8 million for a preliminary engineering agreement on that segment of the bypass.

Davis said it will likely be 7 or 8 years before the project actually breaks ground but the intent is to alleviate traffic congestion on the arsenal that's fast growing its employment population.

Davis said it's too soon to have a cost estimate on the first phase of the bypass but said funding is in place.

"We're committed to getting it built," he said.

The bypass will resemble Research Park Boulevard – the primary artery for traffic arriving and leaving Redstone Arsenal, Davis said. Research Park Boulevard, which recently started a project to add new lanes in each direction, is a high-speed, limited access highway designed to quickly move traffic from the arsenal to the north.

The "Southern Bypass" will eventually serve the same function to the south.

Because it will be a "federal road," Davis said, there are inevitable hurdles to the road being quickly built.

"We're not going to be around to see this (completed)," Councilwoman Jennie Robinson told Davis during his presentation to the council.

Davis responded that he was hopeful the project could be accelerated.

"I'm a little optimistic that maybe our leaders in Washington D.C. can come up with a way to fund federal transportation projects a little quicker than we are now," he told the council. "If that's the case, we'll certainly be fighting for our share for this road."

As the document approved by the council states, the preliminary study will include early engineering work, environmental studies, public meetings among other aspects. There is also the matter of identifying the best path for the road, Davis said, with no plans to disrupt the nearby Huntsville Botanical Garden or the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.