Delays on Natural Bridge project raise concerns

NATURAL BRIDGE - A portion of U.S. Highway 278 between the Natural Bridge intersection and a railroad underpass has been closed and traffic redirected for a few months, due to a project residents have yet to see materialize. 
The lack of progress being made on the project to lower a portion of the west-bound Highway 278 road bed at the railroad underpass, has brought questions and concerns from county and town officials.
At the Winston County Commission’s Monday, Aug. 11, meeting, District 2 Commissioner Roger Hayes asked Road Engineer James Glasgow the status of the project and how long it would be before the project would be started.
“Has the state said anything about the railroad down at Natural Bridge?” Hayes asked Glasgow.
 The Alabama Department of Transportation is overseeing the project to lower Highway 278 so manufactured home traffic and larger trucks can more safely pass underneath.
“I know they have been there,and have all the barriers up,” Hayes added. “I just wondered if they had made contact and will give us any idea when they might start.”
In preparation for the project, westbound traffic on Highway 278 from Natural Bridge to just past the intersection with Highway 13 South has been closed off and both west and eastbound traffic placed into only two lanes on the eastbound lanes.
The traffic configuration alone has brought concern from county and local officials, but Glasgow explained to the commission the reason behind the delay.
Glasgow noted there are two major road projects in Winston County being funded by ATRIP II funding - one on Highway 278 at Natural Bridge, the other adding a turning lane on Highway 33 at County Road 24 in Double Springs.
“It’s the same contractor,” Glasgow said. The contractor was planning to use dirt from one of the projects on the other project, he added.
“What it boils down to is  he (the contractor) was over there (at Natural Bridge) ready to do the work, but the railroad would not get an inspector out there,” Glasgow informed commissioners.
“So the railroad has held him up. He couldn’t just sit still, so he went and worked another job,” Glasgow added. “I think he is ready to come back once they get an inspector.”
“We may need to get involved politically with that,” Hayes responded. “I mean, if they had a good reason to hold us up. They just didn’t want to take the time to do that.
“The state can’t help it and we can’t help it.  That’s the problem you have with the railroad,” Hayes pointed out. “If we need to get somebody else involved to get it kicked off, we can do that, too.”
Hayes advised motorists, meanwhile, to be cautious when driving through the traffic configuration at Natural Bridge until the project is completed.
“Use extreme caution because it is sometimes a little bit confusing,” said Hayes. “Watch for the other person.
“You are not supposed to go through there very fast,” Hayes added. “The state has got themselves covered.  They have engineers and they have safety people.  They think it’s safe, so we just have to abide by it and be more careful.”

Lynn officials speak out over delays

Officials with the Town of Lynn are also voicing concern that the overpass project has not begun. Large mobile home and truck traffic that has to detour the project area and travel through the town face time restrictions and limitations, cited Lynn Police Chief Bryan Kirkpatrick.
“There are people wondering why it hasn’t begun yet because of new traffic patterns, but there’s no work out there being done,” Kirkpatrick stressed. 
“Ultimately, it falls back to safety issues because mobile homes are still having to go down County Road 1,” Kirkpatrick added. 
“School started back on (August) 8, and that has been my main concern,” Kirkpatrick continued.
Signs posted in Lynn prohibit mobile homes from being transported through the town on County Road 1, from 6:45 a.m. until 8:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. until 4 p.m. daily, due to school traffic issues, Kirkpatrick said.
“As long as they abide by the restrictions, we’ll be OK,” Kirkpatrick stated. “You can’t meet a car and a mobile home, much less a school bus and a mobile home on County Road 1. Somebody is going to leave the road.”
Mobile homes are also not allowed to be transported on Main Street at any time, the police chief emphasized. “They have to take Highway 5 south, turn on west Main Street, cross the railroad tracks, then turn left on County Road 1,” he further explained.
“They cannot bring any mobile homes through town,” Kirkpatrick further emphasized. “There was an ordinance passed.  There are signs up.  There are no mobile homes through town at all, any time.”
Until the project at the railroad overpass begins, the county, as well as the town of Lynn are on the state’s time clock, they said.
“We can’t make it start any quicker,” Kirkpatrick stated. “So we just have to bear with it until we get it done.”

There is some light at the end of the tunnel on the Highway 278 project, stated John McWilliams, communications and public relations coordinator for the west central region of the Alabama Department of Transportation.
“The ATRIP project experienced delays due to permitting issues with the railroad,” McWilliams confirmed. “Those permits have now been approved and work on the project within Natural Bridge is expected to begin within the next week or two.
“The Double Springs project has been linked to this effort, as the contractor plans to use a roadway cut from the Natural Bridge project,” McWilliams concluded.
Hayes is proud to see the project finally come to fruition after years in the works, dating back to when he first came into office as county commission chairman in 1993, he said.
“We just have to see it through,” said Hayes. “It’s going to be a lot safer. It’s sad it has taken us this long.”
The project will lower a section of Highway 278 by about three feet approaching the underpass  in the westbound lane, so that larger trucks and mobile home toters can safely pass underneath, officials said.
The county applied for funding to correct the overpass situation about two years ago, and was awarded  up to $2 million in ATRIP II funding, which came from the Rebuild Alabama program, Glasgow explained.
When the project went through the bidding process, the bids came in too high, including railroad and engineering costs, meaning the project was $600,000 shy of total costs needed, Glasgow explained.
An additional $450,000 in ATRIP II funding provided meant the project could be rebid and move forward, county officials said.

Traffic concerns
 for Lynn

“For over 30 years, the mobile home industry, including haulers, have had to detour off Highway 278, travel down Highway 5 and travel through Lynn back to Highway 13  and then back to Highway 278, causing delays and danger in Lynn,” stressed State Representative Tim Wadsworth.
State legislators went to bat to move the project along from the series of delays it has faced.
“We were successful in funding to change all of this,” said Wadsworth. “A few delays is of minor consequence because we got funding for this project that will benefit Lynn, Winston County and the chief industry, which is the mobile home industry.”
State Representative Tracy Estes noted the project has been a collective effort of state legislators for quite some time.
“No one involved in the project could ever question the importance or need for these improvements,” Estes said.
“The improvements this will make in terms of traveling this route for the manufactured housing industry, the timber industry and more may never truly be known.”
Estes expressed his appreciation to every member of the legislative team and work done to help bring the project to reality for the citizens of Winston County.
Wadsworth added, “I will thank the citizens of Winston County for being patient for 30 years. This is a project worth waiting on that benefits all of Winston County. This project will promote safety for Lynn and the surrounding community.”