Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

A project to widen the bridge at Interstate 65, Exit 205 is expected to begin in mid-February.

Bridge Builders of Alabama will be the contractor for the project, having been awarded the bid by the Alabama Department of Transportation in November 2021.

The project will cost $2.93 million with 80% coming from federal funds and 20% coming from state funding.

“We had been looking at it for a while and talking to local leaders about when might be a good time to move forward with it,” John McWilliams, public information officer for the West-Central Region of ALDOT, said. “… The great thing about this project is it is going to improve travel times and safety for motorists using that area.”

The project will add a center turn lane to the bridge to have a left turn lane onto the Interstate ramp without stopping traffic on the bridge.

McWilliams said the traffic signals at the intersections near the bridge will be upgraded also.

The project is expected to be completed this fall.

Widening the bridge had been talked about in 2019 and was initially expected to begin 2020.