Jack Warner Parkway Phase II gets days of warm weather needed for last asphalt layer
In case you're driving downtown this week, Tuscaloosa didn't warp back in time to Jack Warner Parkway Phase II construction. All four lanes did indeed open in late January.
But after weeks of chilly weather, the city finally got its needed five to six days of predicted 50 degree or better weather to apply a final layer of asphalt. That's why workers will be out for the next few days. That last layer needs to sit a few weeks before final striping can be painted in; that and final electrical work will be completed within the next 30 days, said Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
Meanwhile, a joint paving project between the city of Tuscaloosa and the Alabama Department of Transportation affected another section of Jack Warner Parkway, from the Paul W. Bryant Bridge to U.S. Highway 82. Some lane closures were in effect due to that work.
NICK SABAN COMMEMORATIVE BOOK: Relive Nick Saban’s epic Alabama football coaching career with our special book! Preorder here
After 18 months of major construction, with just one winding access lane open during most of that time, the Phase II stretch from Greensboro Avenue to 21st Avenue re-opened in late January. In addition to general leveling of the awkward ups and downs, the work created a four-lane road divided by a landscaped median; added 6-foot sidewalks along the north side; replaced curbs and gutters; installed decorative roadway and pedestrian lighting, landscaping, irrigation and security camera upgrades; and repaired and updated underground utilities.
Similar upgrades and additions were made on Phase I, the expanse of Jack Warner Parkway in front of the Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater. That began December 2002, and concluded in 2022, about the time Phase II began.
Phase III, final part of this project, will extend safety and other upgrades along Jack Warner Parkway going west of the train trestle, as it melds into Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at the southern bend, on to Stillman Boulevard.
That will include two spur roads, and require widening of the train trestles. The city of Tuscaloosa is in final rounds of comments regarding design plans with Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the result of a 2023 $31 billion merger between Kansas City Southern Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway.
Current projections for the total infrastructure project, the city's largest, run just over $79 million, according to Carly Standridge, the city's chief financial officer. Funding from City Hall is being reimbursed through the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission in two ways:
The city issues debt, using credit capabilities, and pays that debt service biannually. TCRIC reimburses the city for those once per year. Those TCRIC payments equal about $1.9 million yearly, and will be fully paid off in 2051.
Early expenses, prior to debt issuance, were paid by the city, then reimbursed directly from TCRIC, for a total of $4,855,152.
Passed in July 2016, House Bill 600, known as "Transforming Tuscaloosa County," formed TCRIC, comprising elected and appointed representatives from governments and the private sector. It redistributes a portion of the 3% county-wide sales tax toward an investment fund to improve major transportation routes. Another massive city project, the long-needed expansion and extension of McWright's Ferry Road, is currently underway at a projected cost of $65 million.
Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Workers put final touches on Jack Warner Parkway asphalt
