Dream becomes reality as ground is broken on McWright's Ferry Road extension
Representatives from the Tuscaloosa area's local governments broke ground Friday morning on a road from the past that passes through the present but leads to the future.
More: What's new at Tuscaloosa City Schools for 2023-24 academic year
The McWright's Ferry Road extension has been a dream since the 1970s. The $68 million extension will alleviate current traffic congestion for residents of the northeastern section of Tuscaloosa city and Tuscaloosa County and allow first responders an alternate way to gain access to the area in times of emergencies.
"Tuscaloosa just keeps winning," Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said. "This community just keeps succeeding time and time and time again. This project was first proposed when I was in second grade back in the late '70s. This project has been talked about and dreamed about for a very, very long time."
The road will extend McWright's Ferry Road between 2 and 3 miles to connect to the Eastern Northern Bypass on the north side of the Bryant Bridge over the Black Warrior River. The new extension will connect to the bypass using a level intersection, as opposed to an overpass.
"This is one of the largest investments of the local tax dollars, as it is purely funded through the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement effort, that's allowing this to happen," said Probate Judge Rob Robertson.
Norman Crow, the City Council representative from District 3, said, "I really think this will spur economic growth even more in this part of the county and city."
"The traffic in the morning and the afternoon is really difficult in this part of town because you've only got one way over the spillway. With this new addition, you are going to have two ways out," Crow said.
"I think whenever you have more infrastructure, you have more of an outlet for traffic. I think you can see some subdivisions develop. I think you could see some more retail develop in this area. I see this as a very positive development for the district I represent," he said.
Glenda Webb, chairwoman of the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission, said the project was enabled by the passage in 2015 of House Bill 600. The extension was one of the projects listed in that legislation, which is known as the Transforming Tuscaloosa County bill.
The Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission was created and funded by a portion of the 3-cent sales tax, a tax that had been on the books as a temporary tax for decades but was made permanent in 2015. A portion of that tax funds the TCRIC projects.
"We know that the northeastern portion of Tuscaloosa County is growing rapidly. A lot of our community regardless of whether you live in the northeastern part of Tuscaloosa County or travel though this area needs to have a better route to get to the interstate. This is a vital project to move people," Webb said.
According to the city of Tuscaloosa, the McWright’s Ferry Road extension is expected to be completed in late 2025 or early 2026.
Reach Gary Cosby Jr. at gary.cosby@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Work begins on McWright's Ferry Road extension in Tuscaloosa
