Alabama 17, August 24, 2022

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The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is overseeing the $114 million project, which will serve motorists primarily in Alabama and Mississippi.

By Cindy Riley

Despite an awkward start and a 10-year lull in construction, workers are poised to complete the U.S. 98/SR158 highway corridor in Mobile County from the Alabama/Mississippi state line to Interstate 65 in the city of Mobile.

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is

CEG CORRESPONDENT

overseeing the $114 million project, which will serve motorists primarily in Alabama and Mississippi.

“The current route serves as an east/west connector for the middle and northern side of the county, connecting much of Mississippi and the other Southeastern states to I-65 and I-10 to Alabama beaches and on to Florida, bypassing heavily congested I-10,” said Jenifer Eubanks, ALDOT assistant

construction engineer, SW region, Mobile. “It runs through the busy populated areas, and this new controlled access route will help alleviate some of the stop-and-go traffic that creates variable speeds, resulting in increased crashes.”

The corridor will reportedly reduce accidents and roadway fatalities by providing safer access and controlling the see ALDOT page 4

Decatur Considers More Construction On State Highway 20 While construction is progressing on an overpass at Bibb-Garrett Road in Decatur, Ala., its city council recently proposed building another interchange and overpass on Alabama Highway 20, a mile to the west of

the first project.

The Decatur Daily reported Aug. 7 that the latest effort appears to have majority support from the council, but a vote on a resolution to spend almost $1 million on design

work was tabled earlier in the month in the hopes of obtaining grant money to offset some of the cost.

The city council also approved pushing the completion date of the Bibb-Garrett

overpass to next year. Originally scheduled to be finished in July, it is now projected to be completed on March 23, 2023, the Decatur news source noted. A six-month see INTERCHANGE page 10

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Mental Health Facility Coming to Morgan County in 2023 A 16-bed mental illness residential crisis unit could become a reality in Decatur, Ala., by late 2023 if funding continues to flow in, and it would likely ease the strain on the Morgan County Jail, the Decatur Daily reported May 13.

The Morgan County Commission recently allocated $600,000 to help in funding the construction of the facility, slated to be built at the site of the former Alabama state trooper building on U.S. Highway 31 South in Decatur.

Lisa Coleman, executive director of the Mental Health Center of North Central Alabama, said she is targeting this fall for construction to begin, adding that the overall cost of the building project will be between $5 million and $6 million.

With the county commission’s allocation, about $2.5 million for the mental health center has been secured.

Alabama State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) told the Decatur Daily he was able to get another $1.2 million put in the state general fund for the proposed facility.

“And because of the increase in costs related to the pandemic and supply chain, we’ve added another $700,000 to make the committed funds total $1.9 million thus far,” Orr added.

William Giguere, a development officer with the Mental Health Center of North Alabama, said that his association is applying for a $300,000 Appalachian Regional Commission grant to help fund the construction, with help from the North Central Alabama Regional Council of Governments.

Construction costs are up, and delivery of materials is slowed by supply chain issues, he noted.

“Everyone is dealing with supply chain, but the land is

secured and that is important,” explained Giguere. “A sizable chunk of project funding is in hand, and more is coming.

We’re optimistic.”

In addition, he told the Decatur news source that the Mental Health Center will reach out to the Decatur City Council and other groups for matching money.

ALEA Donates Land for Facility Coleman said the facility will be the fifth crisis residential unit in the state’s Region 1, which encompasses 20 counties in north and central Alabama, stretching from Georgia to Mississippi, down to Guntersville and Jasper. The other four are in Jasper, Cullman, Anniston and Huntsville.

“This facility will be only for patients who have been committed by a probate judge to the [Alabama] Department of Mental Health [ADMH],” she said. “[It] will be next door to our counseling center with our outpatient programs there, [making it] convenient for people needing the services so they don’t have to travel everywhere.”

Plans call for the residential crisis unit to encompass about 12,000 sq. ft., and include ample parking, she said.

Orr noted that Hal Taylor, secretary of law enforcement for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), deeded the building and surrounding 2.9 acres for the mental health unit last November.

“I went to ALEA and was able to get it transferred from ALEA to the mental health center,” he said. “Hal Taylor was very kind and gracious to donate that site. He said the state was not going to use that property in the foreseeable future.”

Orr told the Decatur Daily that Kim Boswell, commissioner of the ADMH, “is committed to annually providing operating funds for the center.”

Officials Believe Center Will Ease Jail’s Burden Morgan County Commission Chairman Ray Long and District 2 Commissioner Randy Vest said the crisis residential unit will alleviate some of the county jail’s responsibility for prisoner with mental health issues.

“We’re needing it,” Long said. “In our jail, 40 percent of inmates right now have mental issues. They need to be in a hospital, not a jail cell. We work with the mental health association on the Stepping Up Initiative program. Most people, once they get that help, never return to jail. It’s going to be money well spent.”

The Stepping Up program focuses on providing psychiatric treatment to reduce the number of mentally ill people reentering jail or using hospital emergency rooms, according to Decatur Daily.

Vest, who made the motion for the commission to provide $600,000 from the county’s $23 million in America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, added, “the facility will give the county an option on placing people needing treatment and should save us some money in the long run.”

Morgan County Sheriff’s office spokesperson Mike Swafford said the jail will see an instant savings on transporting inmates with mental health issues. He said the department currently must use two officers to transfer a single inmate to one of Region 1’s existing four crisis centers. 

Bank to Build $60M, Four-Story Complex in Muscle Shoals A Sheffield, Ala.-based bank announced Aug. 4 that it is building a $60 million operations center on 50 acres of a former Tennessee Valley Authority property off Reservation Road in Muscle Shoals.

Construction on Bank Independent’s 95,000-sq.-ft. complex will begin next spring, the company said, a process that is expected to last two years. The new complex is being designed to allow Bank Independent to move all its operations staff under one roof. Currently, those employees are spread among five buildings Muscle Shoals.

“Today’s announcement continues our 75-year commitment to making a positive difference every day for our team members, our customers and our communities,” Bank Independent President Macke Mauldin said in a news release.

“Our new facility will provide high quality custom designed office space to serve the needs of our team members, customers, and communities,” added Rick Wardlaw, the company’s CEO, in the same statement.

He explained that the new Muscle Shoals ops center will include training rooms, a medical response area, a wellness room, a fitness center and a conference center served by catering. In addition, the new facility will have a team member café, private dining and a kitchen.

Wardlaw said the center also is slated to

have a Bank Independent Museum “that will honor the legacy of the thousands of team members who have served the bank over the past 75 years with over 25 million hours of service. We look forward to this facility enhancing our reputation as the employer of choice for the next 75 years.”

The general contractor for the new Bank Independent ops center is Robins & Morton, a privately held construction firm based in Birmingham, with branch offices in Huntsville, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, San Antonio and Tampa.

Since 1946, the builder has established a reputation as a trusted advisor to clients nationwide by cultivating a high-performing team that values integrity, safety, and innovative thinking. Due to that, Robins & Morton is among the top 15 contractors in the southeast.

Complex to Be in Natural Setting Bank Independent, with 29 branches across northern Alabama, noted in the release that plans call for the Muscle Shoals building to be four floors in height and sit on a high point at the edge of a forest with meadow views to the east and abundant trees to the west. Team members will park on the forested side, which will give their cars

shade, and employees will be connected to a welcoming two-story lobby by a covered walkway. Entrances from two sides of the building also will give direct access to the building for visitors and team members alike.

Systems are planned to be put in place to ensure comfortable working conditions, and floors sized for functional work groups have been designed for effective collaboration.

Configured floor plates will allow natural light to penetrate deep into the workplace.

The building’s structure will include a combination of steel and concrete, while the façade will encompass brick, glass and metal panels with aluminum frames, Bank Independent noted in its news release.

Additionally, the facility’s HVAC system will employ chillers and an underfloor distribution system that delivers air directly into the comfort zone. The interiors are set to use LED lighting systems suspended from a structure above with minimal suspended ceilings, which will result in tall interior spaces. Corporate workspace will be subdivided by open office systems furniture and demountable glass walls — all providing maximum flexibility for future changes.

“While this facility demonstrates our commitment to our team and our community, it is also an investment,” Mauldin explained. “It’s an investment in the creative

and collaborative future of work. We built a similar facility on a smaller scale for our subsidiary company, Interstate Billing Service, in Decatur back in 2016. That investment has more than paid off in the efficiencies we have gained from a quality work environment that facilitates collaboration and promotes the wellbeing of our team.”

Top Architecture/Design Team Took Project Calvin Durham with Lambert Ezell Durham (LED) Architecture LLC, in Florence, Ala., is the lead architect on the new Bank Independent operations center, in association with KPS Group Inc. in Huntsville.

LED Architecture is the oldest and largest design firm in the region, Bank Independent said in its statement. The firm has been delivering quality architectural and interior design services for projects, both large and small, in the Shoals, and in the surrounding areas of Huntsville, Decatur, Athens, Moulton, Russellville, Haleyville, and Double Springs as well as in Georgia and Tennessee.

Established in 1965, KPS Group provides architecture, interior design, planning and related consulting services across the southeast from its Birmingham headquarters and satellite office in Huntsville. 

Construction Equipment Guide • Alabama State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • August 24, 2022 • Page 3

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ALDOT Project Resumes Following Environmental Concerns

According to ALDOT, the corridor is roughly 14 mi. long and will allow the section of highway to finally be used.

The corridor will reportedly reduce accidents and roadway fatalities by providing safer access and controlling the on-and-off locations.

ALDOT from page 1

on-and-off locations. It also will improve site distance and lessen radical geometrics in both horizontal and vertical curves, including wider roadways.

In 2017, 98/158 corridor construction resumed, following a BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill settlement. The work involves multiple projects, with a targeted completion date of summer 2024.

There are numerous contractors on the job who are experienced in paving and bridge building in the area. They include Tanner Construction, John G. Walton Construction Company, H. O. Weaver & Sons Inc, McInnis Construction LLC, HCL Contracting LLC and Mobile Asphalt Company Inc. According to ALDOT, the corridor is roughly 14 mi. long and will allow the section of highway to finally be used.

During the summer months, the current U.S. 98 is congested due to beach traffic. Mostly the route serves commuter and local traffic from several small communities. The highway is a dangerous two-lane rural facility that was renamed “Bloody 98,” based on crash-related injuries and fatalities.

In 2007, ALDOT began work on the first of several projects to move most of the traffic to a safer, four-lane divided facility slightly north of the existing route. The first project was 8 mi.-long and crossed numerous wetlands and streams.

The project was split between the Escatawpa River, a blackwater stream to the west, and Big Creek to the east. Big Creek feeds Big Creek Lake, the drinking water source for a significant number of individuals in the Mobile area.

The project became a source of construction and stormwater-related pollution. The pristine beaches of Escatawpa were soon covered with a film of clay, and Big Creek Lake lost its credibility for providing safe drinking water. The undertaking faced several lawsuits, regulatory enforcement actions and a frustrated public. After millions of dollars were spent on remediation, restoration and regain-

To date, 75 percent of construction has been completed.

ing regulatory compliance, funding to complete the corridor was no longer available. This forced the indefinite postponement of the work.

Now that construction is back under way, there is a more encouraging outlook. The problems surrounding “Muddy 98” have actually had a significant impact on construction.

“The original corridor project was the traditional cut/fill style project that moved a lot of material within a limited ROW, making management of stormwater during construction more difficult,” said Eubanks.

The project has definitely changed the manner in which ALDOT addresses stormwater programs.

“The previous projects made the department step back and look at our overall process,” said Tony Cooper, stormwater coordinator of ALDOT’s Mobile area construction section. “Instead of taking a reactive approach, we got in at the design process and limited our overall exposure by minimizing our footprint during construction, bridging wetlands instead of using more invasive culverts and focused more on how the contractor can best construct the different elements of the projects while using a variety of best management practices, instead of the standard silt fence and wattles.”

In addition to money uncertainties and public perception, a main challenge for crews involved rethinking business as usual when it came to erosion control and stormwater quality. However, once the design and funding were approved, the overall process became relatively seamless for workers resuming construction after nearly a decade.

Currently, grading, paving and drain, base and bridge work are taking place. Roadway construction and stormwater compliance have already been finished.

To date, 75 percent of construction has been completed.

Demolition has mostly included unclassified removal of crossing roadways to build bridges and overpasses. Minor see ALDOT page 8

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National AGC Magazine Cover Features Alabama Member

Photo courtesy of Constructor Magazine

Johnny and Kathy Walton of John G. Walton Construction Co. Inc. are huge supporters of National Work Zone Safety Week

Alabama AGC and long-time members Johnny and Kathy Walton were featured on the cover of the July/August 2022 issue of AGC Magazine, a national AGC publication.

For the past 20 years, the Mobile Section of Alabama AGC has participated in National Work Zone Awareness Week, which encourages safe driving practices through highway work zones.

“A renewed interest in the importance of getting our message out [...] began in earnest once Marshall Walton was killed by a distracted driver in 2015,” Charlotte Kopf, manager of the Mobile Section, said.

“Marshall was the son of one of our longtime members — Johnny and Kathy Walton of John G. Walton Construction Co. Inc. — and had been involved with AGC his entire life. He was only 25 and was the future of Johnny’s company.”

The tragic incident occurred in 2015 when a distracted driver crashed into Walton’s work zone, killing him instantly. The driver apparently never slowed down. Because of a change in Alabama’s vehicular homicide statute the year prior, the driver suffered no consequences, not even a point on his drivers license.

A local bridge being built by Walton’s company, not far from the site of the accident, was recently dedicated in their son’s name: the Marshall James Walton Memorial Bridge. However, the most significant outcome of the Waltons’ efforts is legislative.

In tandem with Alabama AGC, their local Legislators and the District Attorney’s Association, Johnny and Kathy took it upon themselves to pursue change regarding the vehicular homicide law in Alabama.

Signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2017, the Marshall J. Walton Highway Safety Act reinstated that similar instances of vehicular homicide are punishable from one to nine years.

The importance of work zone safety is increasing as technology becomes more pervasive. With the pandemic winding down over the last year, incidents like these have seen a spike in frequency with the incidence rate rising from 60 percent in 2021 to 64 percent in 2022, according to the results of a study conducted by AGC of America and their survey partner, HCSS. Additionally, an overwhelming 97 percent of those surveyed report that highway work zones are more dangerous than they were a year ago.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 15,000 injuries and 100 fatalities to workers in highway and street construction each year.

When Walton was killed in 2015, no one could have known how much good his parents would bring from tragedy. Their son’s story allows him to live on in the field he loved, and to save lives by preventing others from losing their loved ones to distracted driving. 

Crews Make Great Progress as ALDOT Project Restarts ALDOT from page 4

demo involved mainly trailer homes and septic tanks.

“Shoulder grading and paving are progressing, but they were touch and go, due to their most recent proximity to Big Creek Lake and recent rainfall events,” said Cooper. “Recent excavation work moved along quickly as several trackhoes loaded out unclassified material in concert with each other in a very confined space. As many as 25 dump trucks were hauling material out of an area smaller than seven acres.”

Approximately 1,304,000 cu. yds. of material will be moved between the seven projects. Key construction tasks remaining include Glenwood Bridge, Jones Road site construction and general paving.

Material acquisition and labor shortages have been among the concerns for crews, who’ve also had to battle the weather, according to Cooper.

“Rainfall is the number one influencer of construction delays in the area, but to date, the received rainfall is within our normal 67 inches each year. With that said, most of our rain predictions have been accounted for in project construction time.”

Heavy equipment at the site includes cranes for bridge work, dozers, trackhoes

and trucks. Main materials include borrow and unclassified soils, concrete and steel for bridge construction, asphalt and crushed aggregate base for roadway buildup and sod for stabilization Keeping the multiple projects on specific timelines is crucial to prevent one project from affecting another. Motorists who are clamoring for the U.S. 98/SR158 extension project to finally be finished are anxiously awaiting completion of the assignment that will serve so many for years to come.

For Cooper, the mission is clear and simple, no matter the challenges at hand.

“Crews are working to improve the safety and to expedite mobility of highway users.”

Eubanks added, “It’s always nice to be a part of completing a project to improve the community, regardless of the magnitude but being able to bring previous efforts and goals to fruition is a bonus.

“We are proud of the progress that has been made for this route and look forward to opening the long-awaited corridor to improve congestion and safety for not only the locals, but for the other users, as well.”  CEG

(All photos courtesy of ALDOT.)

There are numerous contractors on the job who are experienced in paving and bridge building in the area.

Construction Equipment Guide • Alabama State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • August 24, 2022 • Page 9

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Additional Interchange, Overpass Under Consideration INTERCHANGE from page 1

delay in the delivery of sanitary sewer pipe needed for the project precipitated the schedule change.

Latest Plan Faces Complications A diverging diamond interchange is planned in the latest proposal and would be built at Calvary Assembly of God and Ala. 20.

There is no road for the interchange to connect to north of Ala. 20, which runs east to west in that area, though, and the only road to the south is Calvary Boulevard, a driveway for the church. The closest road to the north is the east-west Airport Road, a mile north of Calvary.

The church occupies about 50 acres of the 175 acres it owns south of the highway, all of which is outside the Decatur city limits, and is interested in selling the rest of its

“From conversations I’ve had, the developers want as many variables as possible to be eliminated before they invest a lot of money.”

Rev. George Sawyer Calvary Assembly of God

land for development. The land north of the proposed interchange is within the city of Decatur, about 26 mi. southwest of Huntsville.

Building a frontage road extending west from the BibbGarrett overpass is likely not feasible on the south side of Ala. 20, according to Decatur City Engineer Carl Prewitt, because Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) own land that borders the road to the south, just east of the Calvary property and west of the Bibb-Garrett overpass.

“I’m not saying that it can’t be done, but it won’t be easy,” Prewitt said to the Daily.

A frontage road also would require the city to buy a milelong strip of expensive land from property owners, he said.

Instead, Prewitt noted that the newly proposed interchange would likely tie into the 800-ft.-long Calvary Boulevard spur to the south, but he explained there is nothing for it to connect to north of Ala. 20.

He said the cost of the interchange would be “in the range of” the cost of constructing the $18 million Bibb-Garrett overpass. A federal grant is covering $14.2 million of that, and city officials plan to apply for a similar construction grant for the Calvary interchange once the design work is complete.

Development Potential Is High While Council President Jacob Ladner joined in the vote to table consideration of the expenditure until all grant

options are explored, he expressed concern that delays could jeopardize development possibilities south of Ala. 20.

“I do think this is a priority for the simple reason that, especially [as concerns] the property on the south side of Ala. 20 there, if we did have a development, [like] residential, it will be tough going in that area without some type of access like this,” he said. “We want that property to develop. I would still like to see some urgency on this project.”

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said developers have approached the city expressing interest in land owned by Calvary Assembly east of the church building and south of Ala. 20. He told the Daily that he is hopeful an interchange would encourage commercial or residential development on the acreage, and that the land would be annexed into the Decatur city limits.

“We see it as a lure to annexation to the property to the east of Calvary, and [the church] may very well decide to come in too. But it’s more about the property to the east of Calvary,” Bowling said.

He explained the design work for the proposed interchange must be completed before the city can apply for a federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE).

Calvary Property Key to New Project Rev. George Sawyer, the pastor of Calvary Assembly of God, said in an interview with the Decatur Daily on Aug. 5 that his church has indeed been approached by several prospective developers, each of whom mention access to an improved Ala. 20 as one of their chief concerns.

“The concept we’d love to see is live-work-play, an urban center somewhat like you see at Providence,” Sawyer noted, referring to Village of Providence in Huntsville.

The current access at Ala. 20 makes that unworkable, he explained, as there is no traffic signal at the junction of the state highway and Calvary Boulevard, making a left turn toward Decatur hazardous. But he agreed that the wisdom and safety of a light at the intersection also is questionable because it would disrupt the already heavy traffic on Ala. 20.

Of course, those concerns would multiply with a large residential development on the south side of the roadway, and Sawyer said developers interested in the Calvary land know it.

While sympathetic with the concerns many Decatur City Council members have about funding the interchange, Sawyer told the Daily he suspects an interchange would have to exist, or at least be designed and have a construction timeline before a developer would make any kind of commitment.

“From conversations I’ve had, the developers want as many variables as possible to be eliminated before they invest a lot of money,” he added.

One of those variables is the footprint of an eventual interchange. Developers need to know how much land and highway frontage they will lose to the interchange before they invest in anything, Sawyer said.

Prewitt said it would take approximately 30 months between when design efforts begin and construction of an interchange at Calvary is finished. That time lag has Ladner concerned, especially if a residential developer approaches the city, because “they can build houses a lot faster than an overpass.”

While McMasters is reticent about spending almost $1 million to design a Calvary interchange, he views that and the overpass now under construction as worthwhile projects.

“We know that it’s going to take one developer doing one project and we will have an explosion of growth north of the [Tennessee River],” he said. “We may be playing catch-up on some stuff. It’s going to require another firehouse and more infrastructure, along with another access point farther to the west [of the Bibb-Garrett overpass]. All those are very real issues. It’s just a matter of time and money.”

‘No Vision’ From Some, Ladner Believes Ladner told the Daily that said he has heard critics complaining that the Bibb-Garrett overpass is a “bridge to nowhere,” because there is no commercial or residential development on either side of the Ala. 20 corridor, a complaint that also would apply to a Calvary interchange.

“My response to the ‘bridge to nowhere’ is that if you think that bridge [will lead] to nowhere, you have no vision,”

“My response to the ‘bridge to nowhere’ is that if you think that bridge [will lead] to nowhere, you have no vision.”

Jacob Ladner Decatur City Council

he asserted.

He added that, to him, it was obvious that the entire I-65/I565 corridor, of which Ala. 20 is a part, will be developed one day.

“Whether [that happens] in a year or in 10 to 15 years, it’s the right decision to [ensure] that access is there, from both a safety and development perspective. It’s better to be proactive than to wait for something to come along.”

In 2002, Decatur Utilities spent $2.4 million to lay sewer lines along Alabama 20. Then as now, officials believed development of the corridor was imminent. However, various development proposals have since fallen by the wayside.

“The difference now is the [Bibb-Garrett] overpass will provide access to that property and help boost the economy of north Alabama,” Ladner said.

The land annexed by Decatur is north of the river in Limestone County and in City Councilman Kyle Pike’s District 2. He agreed that an interchange west of the one currently being built is important.

He, like Sawyer and Ladner, said the interchange should undergo construction before a developer makes a specific proposal for the land.

“We know the time frame it takes to build those sorts of overpasses after dealing with the one that’s [going up] now,” he explained. “I think when the current overpass is done there is going to be more interest with that [Ala. 20] location being right along two interstates between Decatur and Huntsville. It’s a huge opportunity.” 

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