Here in northwest Alabama, the Tennessee River is the Great Divide. For those of us who live on the south side, we usually have to cross it multiple times each day to see the folks we want to see and go to the places we want to go. The new Patton Island Bridge helped, but the thing is that once you cross the river — either on the new bridge, the old O’Neal Bridge or Wilson Dam — it’s usually still a convoluted series of twisting turns and up one street and down the other and going out of your way to get to where you’re going. That’s why those of us south of the river cannot wait until this straight shot to Florence Boulevard is done. Absolutely cannot wait. It’s akin to anticipating the miraculous completion of four-laning Alabama 157. Any day now…