The intersection of South Juniper Street and Baldwin County 20 reopened Tuesday, Dec. 12, after being closed since September for improvements.

The new signal lights at the intersection will be set to flash until Friday when the signals will be returned to normal operations Foley construction project manager Jeff Phillips said.

The south end of Juniper Street was closed to traffic in September to allow work to be completed on the intersection. Phillips said recent rains delayed the completion of the project, but that phase of the extension is complete.

The project included the installation of new mast arms, mast arm poles and signal heads at the intersection. New sidewalks were built on both sides of Juniper as well as curbs, gutters, a transition curb and the milling of transitions for the new paving.

Mayor Ralph Hellmich said Friday that the last delay was due to an inspection by the Alabama Department of Transportation.

“There was an inspection that ALDOT has to do on the signal,” Hellmich said on Dec. 8. “It was scheduled for next Wednesday. We pleaded with ALDOT. They moved it up one day, so next Tuesday, they will open the intersection on Juniper Street and County Road 20.”

The mayor said the additional project to extend Juniper Street south to meet Alabama 59 is expected to be completed in early 2024.

“The rest of the road won’t be open, because it's still an ALDOT project at 59 and we think that will be by the end of the month in January,” Hellmich said. “They still have some work to do on the signal that comes out at 20 South.”