Completion of Patton Island bridge corridor still years away

Doug Vandiver expects his property values to increase once Wilson Dam road is expanded to six lanes in front of Two's Company Enterprises Inc.

Vandiver and his wife, Shelby, have owned the property since 1985 when the building was the location of his wife's hair salon.

The Vandivers might have to wait awhile, however, to see those property values increase.

According to the local Department of Transportation division engineer, that portion of the Patton Island bridge corridor is not expected to be completed for at least another five years.

Two's Company is on Wilson Dam Road near the intersection with Avalon Avenue. For the time being, the widened portion of Wilson Dam Road will end 700 feet to the south of that intersection.

Other projects to widen Wilson Dam Road from that point to Alabama 157 are scheduled to go to bids between now and fiscal year 2010, according to the DOT's five-year plan.

"Once the road comes through, it will be very good for us," Doug Vandiver said.

At a recent meeting of the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments board of directors, DOT Division Engineer James Brown said completion of the south approach of the Patton Island bridge corridor is still about five years away.

The Patton Island bridge corridor basically follows Alabama 133 from Alabama 157 through Muscle Shoals and the Tennessee Valley Authority Reservation.

It crosses the Tennessee River via the Patton Island bridge and ends at Huntsville Road in Florence.

From there, Alabama 133 will progress through a portion of east Florence and across Florence Boulevard, where there will be a series of access ramps and a signalized intersection below the overpass. It will then merge with Helton Drive near its intersection with Hermitage Drive.

Once the route is completed, businesses currently on Helton Drive between Florence Boulevard and Hermitage Drive will be accessible by an access road that runs from Tune Avenue to Lawrence Avenue.

Right-of-way acquisition will still be going on at or near completion by the time the north approach project is completed,

The Rogers Group is trying to complete the additional lanes from River Road to Avalon Avenue before temperatures get too cold to lay pavement.

When that work is done, there will be a seven-lane highway squeezing down to two lanes just south of Avalon Avenue.

Muscle Shoals Police Chief Robert Evans said he does not foresee problems with the transition from the multi-lane road to the existing two-lane Wilson Dam Road.

According to the DOT's five-year plan, the remaining projects in the corridor project will cost an estimated $22.7 million to $34 million to complete.

Brown said the project will be paid for with a combination of state and federal highway funds.

Brown said projects can always change and be shifted around on the long-range plan. There are also various factors, such as the cost of petroleum-based products, which can affect cost estimates.

A project to widen Helton Drive to five lanes was to begin in fiscal year 2006. DOT spokesman Tony Harris said projects that do not begin in the year they were listed are normally bumped to the next fiscal year.

Ricky Smith, who works in the right-of-way section at the DOT's Tuscumbia division office, said a right-of-way project has started on the segment from south of Avalon Avenue to south of the Norfolk Southern Railway overpass.

Smith said right-of-way from Avalon Avenue to Cox Creek Parkway in Florence has already been secured.

Brown said existing plans have Alabama 133 passing over the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks just east of the overpass.

The existing underpass would likely be abandoned and possibly filled in.

Wilson Dam Road, he said, will likely intersect with Alabama 157 slightly more to the west than it does now.

He cautioned that with any project, plans can change as the project progresses.

Forrest Wright, executive director of the Shoals Economic Development Authority, said the improved highway will benefit economic development.

"It's good for economic development, it's good for industry and it's good for the community," Wright said. "Anyone who tries to get from one side of the Quad Cities to the other knows how important it is."

"If you're in Tuscumbia trying to get to Nashville or in Florence trying to get to Birmingham, 10 percent of your time is spent trying to get to the other side of town," Wright said.

Evans said he expects the larger highway will help the flow of traffic along Wilson Dam Road.

"It may minimize some of the problems we're having now and may have in the future," the chief said. "Businesses on Avalon Avenue will reap the benefits of increased traffic near their businesses.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@timesdaily.com.