Patton bridge on schedule for completion

The next segment of the north approach to Patton Island bridge is on schedule to be completed by next spring, an Alabama Department of Transportation official said.

The 1.2-mile project, which carries a $20.8 million price tag, ties Helton Drive in Florence to a six-lane section of Alabama 133 at Huntsville Road.

The north portion of the Patton Island bridge corridor now stops at Huntsville Road. The bridge carries traffic to and from Muscle Shoals.

Work is also progressing on the second phase of the south approach, the seven-laning of Alabama 133 in Muscle Shoals. That section will be completed by late spring, transportation officials said.

Wright Brothers Construction, of Charleston, Tenn., began work on the north approach in December 2005.

The project has radically altered the landscape around the Florence Boulevard/Helton Drive area.

An overpass crossing Florence Boulevard and a smaller overpass at Avondale Avenue in east Florence are nearing completion, said James Brown, division engineer for the transportation department.

The concrete deck on the southbound side of the new Alabama 133 overpass has been poured and the forms are being set to pour the north side.

An existing overpass on Florence Boulevard that crosses Railroad Avenue is being widened to six lanes.

Brown said the south side of the overpass has been widened and traffic will be shifted to that side when construction on the north side begins.

Ramps that will carry traffic from the new road to Florence Boulevard have been built and are being graded.

"We've got most of everything graded," Brown said.

Early last week, asphalt was being applied to what will become to new lanes of Florence Boulevard,

just below Cherry Hill Homes.

Brown said traffic will be shifted to those lanes when the construction of the north side of the Railroad Avenue overpass begins.

On the Colbert side of the Patton Island bridge, employees with the Rogers Group are applying the driving layer of pavement on a widened Wilson Dam Road, which will be seven lanes from River Road to about 600 feet south of Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals.

Completing the entire Patton Island bridge corridor project on the south side of the bridge, which will see improvements to Wilson Dam Road all the way to Alabama 157, is still several years away, Brown said.

He said the transportation department is in the process of purchasing right-of-way between Avalon Avenue and the Norfolk Southern Railroad underpass.

Florence City Engineer Bill Batson said the new roadway should have a positive impact on traffic patterns in the area.

"It will just make it easier for the citizens to get around the Shoals, so of course it's going to be better," he said.

Truck traffic is likely to increase on Helton Drive in Florence, he said, but the state has plans to add a center turn lane to Helton Drive from Hermitage Drive to Cox Creek Parkway.

"It will probably take some of the congestion off Cox Creek Parkway," Batson said.

Brown said money has been approved to relocate utilities along Helton Drive to accommodate the new lane.

"They should be moving utilities in the not too distant future," Brown said.

Chip Rasch, director of engineering for Florence Utilities, said materials have been ordered and utility relocation will likely begin this summer.

Rasch said utility department employees would complete the relocation.

"We've been given authorization to proceed at our earliest convenience," Rasch said.

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