Alabama 9, May 3, 2023

EARTH Work

Crews Begin Transformation of Former Avondale Mills Site

By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT

In Sylacauga, Ala., property resembling a war zone is being transformed into a space that will merge education and workforce development. Crews at the former Avondale Mills site are sifting through piles of rubble, preparing the site for construction of the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH).

“EARTH is about providing an effective and efficient workforce development system, cradle to grave, that’s responsive to the current needs of individuals and businesses,” said Margaret Morton, executive director of the Sylacauga Alliance for Family Enhancement (SAFE). “It’s an economic development solution for rural Alabama and rural America, focusing on the individual, the family and the region, allowing organizations, businesses and the community to serve, train and collaborate.”

The EARTH campus will focus on incubation and preparing East Alabama’s workforce for on-demand jobs in K-12 education, agriculture, hospitality training, IT and healthcare. It will house SAFE staff offices and include an interpretive center, public and private meeting spaces, classrooms for adults and children, incubation offices for local businesses, co-working space, flex spaces and cooking/catering kitchens.

see EARTH page 2

Construction to Resume On Birmingham’s

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey appeared in Gardendale on April 12 to announce that $489 million in federal funding has been secured to resume construction on the Birmingham Northern Beltline this spring.

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) broke ground on the project in 2014 but ceased work in 2016 due to a lack of funding from Washington. Al.com, the statewide news service, reported April 13 that the new funding will

cover five years of construction and will open a four-lane, 10-mi. segment of highway called Interstate 422 between U.S. Highway 31, north of Gardendale, and Alabama Highway 75, north of Pinson.

“This is an exciting day for Jefferson County,” Ivey said. “The need for this project has grown.”

If completed as planned, the proposed Northern Beltline would be a 52-mi., sixlane corridor from I-59 in northeast Jefferson

County to the I-459 interchange with I-59/I20 near Bessemer.

When it was conceived, the project was to be financed solely by the Appalachian Development Highway System but was not funded in the fiscal year 2018 federal transportation bill.

The entire beltline was originally estimated to cost $3.4 billion, but the cost estimate rose in 2011 to $4.7 billion. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) now esti-

mates the project will cost $5.44 billion, averaging over $100 million per mile of road, making it the most expensive road project in Alabama’s history.

Of the $489 million the state has secured to fund building the freeway for the next half-decade, over $300 million comes from President Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which Congress passed in 2021.

The new I-422 is intended to complete an

Difference Architecture LLC photo The design team estimates a total of 13,516 cu. yds. of inert material and 7,602 of non-inert material being moved as part of the project.

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Demolition, Site Clearing Continue On EARTH Campus

EARTH from page 1

Morton said the $48 million project will touch many lives.

“There are citizens from across the community, state and nation who are invested in EARTH, and realize the economic impact for the present and for the future that is created when we work together for a common vision and a common purpose,” she said.

Clearing and teardown at the site began in January 2023. Crews clearly had their work cut out for them, according to Sylacauga Mayor Jim Heigl.

“In 2011, while workers were preparing to demolish the mill, a lightning strike caused the complex to burst into flames,” he said. “While as many as 50 firefighters battled to contain the burning, thick black smoke-filled Sylacauga. Days later, firefighters were still extinguishing hotspots. Since that fire occurred, the charred broken skeleton of the mill has stood as a testament to its loss.

“The intended use for these properties will bring life back

to a long-abandoned area physically, economically and in job marketability,” Heigl added. “So many of our industries, especially trades, are suffering with more work than they have the labor to complete.”

Heigl noted the EARTH project will provide initiatives that draw people to the Sylacauga community. He applauded the decision to build at the Avondale Mills site.

“It was a long-standing textile industry for Sylacauga before its closure in 2006,” he said. “Sylacauga and the surrounding areas were once filled with multiple generations of Avondale employees. Similar to many textile mill areas, thriving and vibrant residential communities surrounding the mill location were devastated after its closure. Witnessing new life returning to the location after its 17-year decline is sure to bring a breath of fresh air.”

Workers have spent months clearing all the structures above ground. According to architect and project manager Ryan Coleman, G&H Ventures was selected as the qualified lowest bidder on the clean-up.

see EARTH page 6

Difference Architecture LLC photo Clearing and teardown at the site began in January 2023.

Difference Architecture LLC photo

In Sylacauga, Ala., property resembling a war zone is being transformed into a space that will merge education and workforce development.

Difference Architecture LLC photo

Crews are about halfway through the designated timeframe for the cleanup.

Difference Architecture LLC photo Crews at the former Avondale Mills site are sifting through piles of rubble, preparing the site for construction of the East Alabama Rural Innovation and Training Hub (EARTH).

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G&H Ventures Crew Halfway Through EARTH Site Cleanup

EARTH from page 2

“The Talladega Board of Education owns the property, and the funds used to pay for this part of the project came from PSCA dollars,” Coleman said. “When the cleanup is finished, we will start the remediation process and work with an environmental engineer to lead that process.”

An environmental report showed some contamination at the site, but nothing beyond what was expected.

“One of the contaminants present was arsenic, which is a naturally occurring element,” said Coleman. “The report noted that the presence of arsenic might be naturally occurring, due to the site’s proximity to bedrock.”

Coleman said the biggest challenge the contractor and design team face is the unknown.

“This site was in a state where we could only use educated judgment on what lay beneath the rubble. The current work is debris cleanup. This site contained inert and non-inert material. The plan for the non-inert material is to take it to a certified landfill for disposal. The plan for the inert material is to crush and store it on site to be used at a later time in the development of EARTH, or to be used for other community projects around the region.”

Crews are about halfway through the designated timeframe for the cleanup. Most of the structures were in a state of disrepair to begin with and are being demolished with a hydraulic shear.

The design team estimates a total of 13,516 cu. yds. of inert material and 7,602 of non-inert material being moved as part of the project, which has already won the support of the community.

“A major milestone was the day the main structure came down,” said Coleman. “It was an eyesore, and it’s now down and ready to be repurposed.”

While workers must keep an eye on the forecast at all times, wet conditions have been beneficial at times.

“Rain can actually help keep the dust down when the contractor is screening and crushing, so it has not affected progress,” said Coleman, who added this scope of work ends at grade level.

“We have asked this contractor to get surface level and up, and we will address what’s beneath the grade in future development projects.”

Heavy equipment on site includes a crusher, hydraulic shear, screener and various earthmoving equipment, both large and small.

The hours can be long and the work tedious, but Coleman is proud to be part of a dedicated group of individuals com-

mitted to carrying out the overall vision.

“It’s very rewarding to be involved with such a wonderful team. The project will have a lasting impact on this region for many years.”

Morton added, “EARTH is a vehicle to cataclysmically transform not only the blighted textile mill property where EARTH will reside, but the region’s economic future for years to come.”  CEG

Birmingham’s Northern Beltline Project Receives $489M From Feds

interstate loop around Birmingham that began with I-459, which runs about 33 mi. from McCalla in western Jefferson County to Trussville in eastern Jefferson County.

“Birmingham is one of the very few cities of its size in the United States that lacks a complete, connected interstate route to serve its metropolitan area,” Ivey explained. “For about the last 30 years or so, we have talked about the need for a project that changes that.”

DeJarvis Leonard, head of ALDOT’s East Central Region, said sections of the interstate will be opened as they are finished. He added that work would resume where it left off between Ala. Highways 75 and 79, a section that would probably be completed first because of the work that has already been done, and construction also will start from

U.S. 31 working back east toward that section.

“We need to build what we need 25 years from now, not what we need now,” said U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, R-6th District.

With a completed I-422, Jefferson County will be on track to create a technology corridor that could rival any in the country, he said.

“The Alabama delegation is committed to making this happen,” Palmer noted. “In the movie, ‘Field of Dreams,’ they said, ‘Build it, and they will come.’ That [also] applies to infrastructure.”

Construction on a Southern Beltline around the city, I-459, began in the 1970s, was completed in 1985, and led to a development boom there, including the construction of the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover at the I65 intersection in 1986, and The Summit shopping center at the U.S. 280 intersection

with I-459 in 1997.

State and local officials said the completion of a Northern Beltline could allow northern Jefferson County to enjoy a similar economic resurgence.

“The Northern Beltline will also open up even more economic development opportunities for our state,” Ivey said. “Some of Alabama’s economic development partners have already identified 20 potential industrial parks that could be located along the [the corridor].”

Gardendale Mayor Stan Hogeland told Al.com that more cooperation is needed to secure funding for the completion of the entire beltline.

“We need to continue to work together,” he said. “This doesn’t finish it; this gets it started.”

Homewood City Council member Jennifer

Andress said the project also will increase mobility for law enforcement and emergency rescue efforts in the county.

“We have disaster relief and law enforcement that we need to have quick access to the people that they serve,” she said.

Ivey said the new corridor also would relieve traffic congestion by re-routing trucks around Birmingham.

“It will make traffic through this area much more convenient,” she asserted. “Once completed, it will divert an estimated 18,000 semi-trucks out of downtown Birmingham daily, reducing traffic congestion and improving safety.”

According to the FHWA, the entire beltline is scheduled for completion in September 2047. 

BELTLINE from page 1

Difference Architecture LLC photo An environmental report showed some contamination at the site, but nothing beyond what was expected.