Interstate traffic brings commerce to rural areas, legal and illegal

Interstate highways bring more commerce to rural areas, not all of it legal. Keith Huffman of The Anniston Star in East Alabama highlights the problem in a piece Sunday that focuses on I-20 between Atlanta, Georgia, and Birmingham, Ala.

Though only a few thousand residents live near that stretch of I-20, the road carries between 60,000 and 70,000 people through the area every day, and with them comes big city crime.

The most common crimes are drug-related, with one to five taking place in an average week. Illegal firearms seizures are also frequent. In fact, local police officer Danny Turner seized more guns and ecstasy than any other officer in the U.S., working a seven-mile stretch of I-20. Local police also report seeing about 200 cases of identity theft per month, and sometimes even human trafficking.