The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has announced that repairs to a dangerous dip in the closed outside eastbound lane of Alabama Highway 24 on Trinity Mountain, west of Decatur in the northern part of the state, could be wrapped up within two months and the lane reopened once a contractor is selected from a list of submitted bids.
That is welcome news to motorists that use Ala. 24, a major traffic corridor for Lawrence County commuters traveling east-northeast between their homes and Decatur, in Morgan County, and Huntsville, in Madison County.
The lane's shutdown has been an "inconvenience" to motorists, said Seth Burkett, an ALDOT spokesperson. He told The Moulton Advertiser that the lane has been closed for several months because of a "slide in the slope."
"We've been monitoring this area for a while, but it seems the heavy rains in 2019 and 2020 may have somewhat accelerated the gradual downslope movement of material," explained Burkett.
"Once the contract is awarded, we anticipate a contractor mobilizing immediately to begin work and completing the repair within a couple of months," he continued. "They will be allowed to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Burkett added that the same section of Ala. 24 had a slide repair in the 1990s, and, more recently, pavement repairs also have needed to be made along the roadway.
Once a contractor is chosen and begins work at the site, ALDOT wants the company to construct a soldier pile retaining wall that will measure about 28 ft. high and 330 ft. long. The reinforced wall will be built to prevent further movement, Burkett said.
"It will be surrounded by a safety fence and the shoulder will be lined with a guardrail," he explained. "Traffic impacts during work are anticipated to be minimal. It will probably only require [shutting down] the lane that is already closed."
ALDOT estimates the price tag for the Ala. 24 lane repair to be between $2 million and $2.5 million, he said.
Lane Issue Forces Motorists to Be Cautious
The highway lane closure is in the police jurisdiction of the small town of Trinity, Mayor Vaughn Goodwin said. The road repairs are south of the community of 2,500 people.
"We haven't had any accidents there that I'm aware of," Goodwin told The Advertiser. "I've had a couple of complaints from residents who are wondering when it might be repaired. It's been an inconvenience."
He said a positive aspect to the closed lane is that it slows eastbound traffic coming off Trinity Mountain.
"Coming down that hill with too much speed causes some safety problems at that light [Ala. 24 at West Morgan Road]," according to Goodwin. "At least the traffic is going slower through there now."
Morgan County District 1 Commissioner Jeff Clark said some motorists might opt to use Whitlow and Lamon roads to avoid the construction area once work begins on the partially collapsed roadway.
In the past year, he told the Moulton news source that his district's highway and street maintenance shop has widened both roads to make them safer. He warned that West Morgan Road southeast of Ala. 24 also is partially closed, with traffic having been rerouted onto Lamon Road.
In addition, Clark said that West Morgan Road between Ala. 24 and Old Moulton Road has a narrow bridge that has been deemed unsafe, and the start of work on improving that structure is taking longer than expected.
"Funding through the [Clark Planning Organization] has been put off a little while longer," he explained. "We plan to straighten West Morgan Road and replace the bridge along there to make it safer."
However, Clark told The Advertiser that it might be 12 to 18 months before that work begins.
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