Huntsville
20 Decatur
State Supplement sponsored by:
231
65
72 Florence
2
72
565 59
43 231
31
5
ALABAMA STATE EDITION
431
Gadsden
78 59
A Supplement to:
Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82 65
231
43 84 431 331
84
84 52
SHIP WITHIN 48 HOURS
Dothan
31
45 65
February 27 2019
Vol. XXXII • No. 5
98
SAME DAY PARTS AVAILABILITY
Mobile
10
®
24 HOUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT BACKED BY A 75 YEAR BUSINESS Thousands in Service!
Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Affordable Price. Premium Service.
CALL 800-367-4937 *On approved credit • Financing Available
Drilling, Blasting Prepare Ground for Road Project
By Cindy Riley
In a critical phase in the widening of a major thoroughfare, drilling and blasting continues as part of an $18 million, 3.4-mi. project in Huntsville, Ala. Upon completion, Cecil Ashburn Drive will expand from two to four lanes between Old Big Cove Road and Four Mile Post Road. “This is one of three major routes between east Huntsville
CEG CORRESPONDENT
and our city center,” said Kathy Martin, director of engineering of the city of Huntsville. “It currently carries approximately 17,000 vehicles per day. Road closure concerns included the use of designated alternate routes and the congestion that would result on these alternate routes.” The project was designed to ease congestion and incorporate safety improvements and includes 8-ft. shoulders along each side of the roadway.
Jeff White photo
The Alabama Department of Transportation is helping to fund an $18 million project to widen Cecil Ashburn Drive in Huntsville
According to the city’s website, Cecil Ashburn was originally designed as a four-lane road, but because of cost, only two lanes were built in the late 1990s. Future projected traffic modeling shows an increase in traffic counts to almost 30,000 vehicles per day by the year 2040. Because the roadway is at capacity and the funding is in place to share the cost with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), Martin said now is the right time to perform the work, adding that feedback from the community has been important. “We have a very active community on the east side of Huntsville, Hampton Cove and Big Cove, as well as many commuters from Marshall County and Jackson County who travel to Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal daily for employment,” she said. “It was critical to keep our community aware of the project need, and schedule to properly plan for this change. “Our planning and communication departments took a proactive effort in publicizing the three preferred alternate routes for those traveling in the area by utilizing public outreach and social media to distribute information. It was important that we informed motorist and employers in the area to allow work and school schedules to be adjusted and discourage motorists from using local neighborhood roads during this time. “The engineering department also performed intersection improvement projects on the alternate routes, to encourage the use of these routes during this time,” Martin added. “The traffic engineering department made significant changes to signal timings on these alternate routes to help relieve congestion.” As for reaction from the traveling public, motorists seem see BLASTING page 4
Shelby Predicts FBI Investment in State Could Reach $1B Alabama’s senior senator said the FBI’s investment in the northern part of the state could reach $1 billion. News outlets reported that Sen. Richard Shelby met with business and community leaders in Huntsville Feb. 11 and said more construction by the FBI is expected at the Redstone Arsenal in coming years. Shelby said "Huntsville is on fire" from an economic point of view. “You’ve got the manpower here. You’ve got the brain trust, and you’ve got the secu-
rity of the [Redstone] Arsenal,” Shelby told WZDX News in Huntsville. "I think it will be one of the biggest presences of the FBI outside of Washington.” The FBI said in November that it plans to transfer 1,350 jobs to the Redstone Arsenal. The FBI has the Terrorist Explosive Devices Analytical Center and the Hazardous Devises School at Huntsville. Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville already includes a U.S. Army base, as well as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
The agency announced in November it was expanding its presence at the Arsenal with the construction of a large-scale operations support building, which is scheduled for completion in 2021. Ultimately, the FBI expects to eventually have as many as 5,000 employees working at its Arsenal facilities, according to online reports. Shelby said he thinks Huntsville eventually will be second only to Washington for the FBI. The agency’s investment would join other
major construction projects in Huntsville, including a $1.6 billion Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA development, which promises to create about 4,000 jobs; a $750 million Facebook facility; and a $200 million rocket engine manufacturing plant under development by Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. In addition, Google is building a $600 million data center is under construction in nearby Bridgeport.