FOLEY – A project to widen the shoulders of the Beach Express through Foley should improve safety and make the highway more consistent with the roadway in other areas of Baldwin County, Mayor Ralph Hellmich said.
The Foley City Council voted Monday, Feb. 7, to begin plans to widen the Foley Beach Express from Baldwin County 12 north to the intersection of Alabama 59. The council voted to accept a construction agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation to widen the highway.
The project is expected to cost about $1.39 million. The city will pay 10 % of the cost, estimated at $138,837, with federal highway funds paying the rest of the cost, according to city reports.
The project calls for extending the shoulders on the sides of the road, which are narrower than those on newer parts of the Beach Express to the north and south of the city.
“It will not only widen it, it will make it equivalent to what we have on the Baldwin Beach Express,” Hellmich said.
Thompson Engineering Services will plan the project, including preparing surveys, geotechnical analysis, plans and specifications, Chad Christian, city engineer, said.
Charles Webber, an engineer with Thompson, said the project is still being planned, but ALDOT has approved widening the roadway by 2 feet on both sides to improve safety.
The initial grant was intended for safety improvements. City Administrator Michal Thompson said Foley officials met with ALDOT Director John Cooper to discuss resurfacing the road as part of the project.
“They seemed to be very supportive of the overall project. Obviously, they allowed for a safety grant, but we talked to them about how helping us with some of the paving involved they talked to us about,” Thompson said. “So, we hope that the state will be very supportive of this project, not just the safety features, but also the repaving as well.”
Webber said engineers are also looking at ways to maintain the road.
“Some of the other things were looking at is long-term maintenance on this route too,” Webber said. “We’re looking at the overall pavement performance right now and trying to come up with recommendations to extend the life of that.”
Christian said the project is expected to take about 30 weeks to complete.
He said the work will start in the fall after the busiest time of the tourist season. Starting in the fall will also divide the cost of the project between two fiscal years.
