At the site of the project, from left, Natural Bridge Mayor Pete Parrish, Winston County Commission Chairman David Cummings, Road Engineer James Glasgow, David A. Kemp, Fayette Area Operations Engineer for ALDOT, Lynn Town Clerk Marcia Manasco, Lynn Police Chief Bryan Kirkpatrick, Natural Bridge council members Paul Garrison and Jeremy McCarter.
NATURAL BRIDGE - A project that local officials say is long overdue is finally becoming reality.
E.O. Byars Construction, Inc. was awarded the contract $1,821,277, to construct a vertical realignment of the westbound lanes of Highway 278 traveling under the Norfolk Southern railroad underpass from the junction of Highway 13 to Highway 5 in Natural Bridge, noted John McWilliams, communications and public relations coordinator for the Alabama Department of Transportation.
“The project is expected to be completed by this fall,” McWilliams said. “The project is necessary to allow trucks to go under the railroad bridge.
“We are confident this project will benefit the community,” McWilliams added.
During construction, traffic on the four-lane highway will be condensed into one lane in both directions through the construction area, according to McWilliams. “Minor delays are possible,” he said.
The project will lower a section of Highway 278 by about three feet approaching the underpass in the westbound lane so larger trucks and mobile home toters can safely pass underneath, officials said.
The railroad underpass, about a quarter mile west of the Natural Bridge intersection, is currently too low for mobile homes and many larger and/or taller trucks to travel under, officials have stressed.
The shoulder of the road at the underpass shows debris from manufactured homes and other loads that have been caught beneath the underpass and torn off, as well as logs that often fall off trucks.
The railroad underpass also has large scrape marks where large trucks have caught it while passing underneath.
“We’ve spent a long time working on this project,” stressed Winston County Commission Chairman David Cummings, who was the district 2 commissioner during a majority of the planning.
“This will help keep mobile homes from going through our little county roads and going through Lynn,” Cummings added. “When this project is completed, they will be able to stay on 278 and not detour.
“Everyone needs to use caution and avoid the area if possible for the next three months,” Cummings stated.
See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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