Construction status of Shelby County 52 bridge discussed

During the June 28 Shelby County Commission meeting, County Manager Chad Scroggins discussed the possibility of using the American Recovery Act funds for infrastructure projects with a 20-year impact or longer.

The specific infrastructure projects have not been determined yet, but they may include water infrastructure or capital projects that will be useful and beneficial to the community long term. They do not know how much money they will have for those projects, but the assessment is about $42 million over the course of several years, Scroggins said.

The county’s budget schedule for this year should be prepared by Aug. 1 and submitted for approval at the commission meeting in early September.

County Engineer Randy Cole reported that gas tax revenue is increasing due to rising gas taxes.

Bids for a traffic signal at the intersection of Shelby County 26 and Shelby County 17 were recently opened and will be up for approval at the next commission meeting.

Cole also discussed the status of work on several bridge projects. Work on the Shelby County 52 bridge over the Cahaba River is progressing despite being temporarily delayed due to rain, with mortars being set that are 7 feet deep, over 100 feet long and 42 tons each. Cole said the work will require cranes on both sides of the Cahaba River, and the road will be blocked off while the mortars are set, weather permitting, before and after the July Fourth holiday.

If utilities can be moved around, bridge work will also be started in Pelham and Helena on Shelby County 52 at a later time.

“We’re going to decide which one to do next, probably one down around the Spring Creek area. There’s one on CR-61 we’ve got to do, and one on CR-71 we’ve got to do,” Cole said. “We never run out of bridges.”

Bids approved by the commission also included:

► Copper tubing PVC to Ferguson Waterworks for $60,283.

► Bridge replacement and approaches on Shelby County 24 over Spring Creek to Newell & Bush Inc. for $1,427,356.51.

► PTC pressure sealed forms to Forms Plus Services for $8,387.50 .

► Unanimous approval for the Emergency Response Plan for Water Services that is a requirement of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.

► Appointed Christie Hester-Pannell to the Central Alabama Wellness board to fill the remainder of Ed Carter’s term, which expires in May 2023.