Photo courtesy of David Willingham
For those traveling in Chelsea, a project will soon begin to widen and restripe County Road 47.
The county received five bids and accepted the lowest from Massey Asphalt Paving for $561,095.
“The extra lane on 47 south will shorten the cycle for the left off 280,” said county engineer David Willingham.
Chelsea Mayor Tony Picklesimer was in attendance at the commission meeting on June 10 and said a good number of cars turn off 280, mostly westbound headed toward Highway 11, and this will give them a dedicated lane onto 47 to get to Highway 11.
The scope of work will include adding a lane southbound onto County Road 47, modifying the traffic signal equipment at the intersection and restriping County Road 47 all the way across the bridge to the intersection of County Road 47 and County Road 39.
Willingham said work on the project should begin soon.
“I expect they will start late June/early July and the majority of the work should be accomplished within two to three months,” he said. “However, traffic signal equipment may take six months or more to purchase so the signal changes will be completed last.”
The project funding will be split three ways, with $200,000 coming from Shelby County, the city of Chelsea and ALDOT.
Picklesimer also shared that the LaQuinta in Chelsea should open in the next 30 to 60 days. The city was also awarded a grant for sidewalks and lighting around the hotel area to make it walkable to restaurants.
