Troy city council names connector roads
Published 3:00 am Wednesday, April 26, 2017
The two roads built as part of the Enzor Road Connector Project now officially have names.
The road that connects U.S. Highway 231 to Enzor Road, which has been known as the George Wallace Drive extension, will be dubbed Trojan Parkway. The extension of South Franklin Drive to the Oak Park subdivision will now be known as John H. Witherington Drive after former council chairman Johnny Witherington, District 4.
Mayor Jason Reeves said the roads needed to be named now that they’ve been opened to traffic so that crash reports can be correctly closed out.
“I’d like to thank the council for naming a road after my dear friend (Johnny Witherington),” Reeves said during Tuesday’s meeting. “He’s very dear to me and to the community for his leadership and vision. The council did the right thing.”
The council also approved a bid by Hilton Cooper Contracting Inc. for $107,121.92 for the installation of new 8-inch water lines down John H. Witherington Drive from its intersection with U.S. Highway 231 to its intersection with Trojan Parkway.
Utilities manager Brian Chandler said the lines will also be extended on each side of the intersection of Trojan Parkway so that the lines can be extended in the future by grants or by developers.
Reeves said that a large mound of dirt on the side of Trojan Parkway will be moved within the next few weeks and, since the project is ending completion, the city will look to hold an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the road.
The council also awarded a bid to Geisler Contracting Inc. in the amount of $554,240.10 for the installation of sidewalks downtown. Of that amount, the Alabama Department of Transportation will pay $400,000 and the city will provide the remaining $154,240.10.
The sidewalks will be replaced or installed on both sides of North 3 Notch Street between Elm Street and Walnut Street, on both sides of Walnut Street from North 3 Notch Street to Cherry Street and on both sides of Church Street from Market Street to South Oak Street.
The east side of South Oak Street between Church Street and Love Street and the south side of Love Street between South Oak Street and Market Street will also be redone.
The project is funded by a federal TAP grant (Transportation Alternatives Program) awarded to the city in 2014.
Melissa Sanders, planning and zoning administrator for the city, said the sidewalks will improve the aesthetics and walkability downtown.
“This helps to revitalize downtown,” Sanders said. “It contributes to pedestrian accessibility and livability”
Project engineer Tim Ramsden said the project includes extra greenscaping and decorative lights for the areas.
Ramsden estimates that construction can get underway within two months and that the project would take approximately three months to complete.
The council accepted donated property from the Troy Board of Education, namely the Academy Street High School.
Reeves said the move formally gives the city possession of the school so that the city can move forward with its roof repair and future plans to revitalize the school for public use.
The council approved another bid award Tuesday in the amount of $33,70 for the Department of Environmental Services to fix an engine in one of their 2012 garbage trucks.
In other business, the council:
• Approved an ordinance to destroy three buildings including the old wastewater treatment facility, a storage building on the old public works site and the old Troy pound.
• Approved an ordinance that changes the “Back to School” sales tax holiday to July 21 to coincide with the state tax holiday.
• Discussed the possibility of an ordinance that would establish some sort of fee at Continental Cinemas that the city would collect and remit to the theater to help fund expansion.
The next meeting of the Troy City Council will be held Tuesday, May 13 at City Hall.
The executive committee meting will begin at 4 p.m. upstairs followed by the council meeting at 5 p.m. in the city council chambers.