Jun. 6—West Morgan Road has been closed for about a year and a half, but officials said they hope construction will start by August and it will reopen this time next year.

“It’s been closed now for over a year waiting for us to get the right of way. It’s been needing fixed for a long time,” said Morgan County Commission Chairman Ray Long. “We’re at the point now where we have everything we need. Now we’re having to move utilities. … All the pieces are just now coming together, so we can get in there and fix that in the next few months.”

Jeff Clark, Morgan County District 1 commissioner, said West Morgan Road, between Alabama 24 and Old Moulton Road, is a narrow road with a sharp curve and a very narrow bridge.

“The bridge was built when the roads were very narrow and there wasn’t a lot of traffic on it. I think the bridge itself is only about 18 feet wide; it wasn’t enough. It was almost like a one-lane bridge,” he said. “It was dangerous right there near the school, the school traffic, and we had had a couple of accidents there, so we just shut the road down until we could get it where it would be safe.

“There was no shoulder leading up to the bridge, so it was just a dangerous situation in that curve, too.”

Clark said they will be straightening the road and replacing the bridge with a longer, wider one.

“This should take care of all the safety issues that we can take care of,” he said.

County Engineer Greg Bodley said the county acquired rights of way from three landowners totaling 3.28 acres and costing a total of $33,250. He said “all tract purchases were based on the appraised value.” The last tract was approved for purchase about a month ago by the County Commission.

At its May 28 meeting, the commission approved moving the water, sewer and electric utilities in the area.

“When they purchased the right of way, the additional property, they’ll have to move the road over and straighten out a curve,” Clark said. “To do that, they had to buy the property, move the utilities, then they’ll tear the old bridge out and construct the new one.”

Clark said he hopes construction can start by the end of August.

“We’ve got to get the utilities moved and then they’ll get the bids for the construction of the new bridge, the demolition and the construction,” he said. “It might take up to six months once they get started to do it, so it’ll probably be finished this time next year, if I had to guess.”

Bodley said the estimated construction cost is about $1.35 million, the estimated utility relocation cost is $570,035, and the rights-of-way cost is $33,250. The estimated total cost of the project is $1.96 million. Bodley said it is a Metropolitan Planning Organization project so 80% will be paid from federal funds, while the other 20% will come from the District 1 budget.

“It’ll take them a while to demo the old bridge after they get the utilities moved and everything,” Clark said. “It’s just going to be a time-consuming process. At least we got the land purchased and agreed to get the utilities moved. We’re moving in the right direction. It’s just slow.”

—erica.smith@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2460.