Calhoun slated for 12 construction projects

Transportation officials say that 12 construction projects are slated to be finished or started in the coming months in Calhoun County. The projects include the completion of Veterans Memorial Parkway and resurfacing of Golden Springs Road.

The largest project scheduled for completion this year is the long-awaited parkway. The 7-mile Alabama Department of Transportation road project has been in the works for more than a decade and has cost $150 million. Shannon Jones, district manager for the Alabama Department of Transportation, said construction is ongoing and the project is still set to be completed in late summer or early fall.

Jones said the final tie-in of the road to Highway 431 will be the most difficult part of this final phase of the project.

Major projects set to start this summer include the extension of Iron Mountain Road at McClellan to Alabama 21.

Along with Iron Mountain, Eglin Avenue at McClellan will be repaved and expanded this year through a $1.7 million grant from the state department of transportation.

Meanwhile, downtown Anniston will see a fair share of road work this year, particularly on Quintard Avenue. ALDOT began upgrading all the sidewalks along Quintard last fall to ensure they are handicap accessible.The sidewalk work is set to be completed by the end of January, then the department will begin resurfacing Quintard, from Snow Street to the intersection of U.S. 431 and Alabama 21. The entire project is costing the state around $3 million.

Another ALDOT project that will affect Anniston drivers is the resurfacing of Golden Springs Road, set to start this summer. That project, on what is regarded by the state as the southern end of the city’s eastern bypass, will extend from Interstate 20 in Oxford north to Choccolocco Road in Anniston and will involve temporary lane closures.