McKinley Drive to close Wednesday for $2.8mil construction project

Published 3:00 am Tuesday, November 7, 2017

McKinley Drive will be shutting down Wednesday as a $2.8 million project begins to reconstruct the road.

The road will be closed form the roundabout to the former Trojan Arena entrance and will ne inaccessible by traffic.

Traffic to Trojan Arena will be able to use the new entrance from the George Wallace end of the road.

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Planning administrator Melissa Sanders said there will be detour signs to help direct people around the closure.

“This portion of the road or other portions of this road will be closed for the remaining duration of the project, which is anticipated to last until April 30, 2018, weather permitting,” Sanders said. “Motorists are asked to use the marked detour route or alternate routes to avoid this area for the remaining duration of this project.”

Sanders said non-school traffic is encouraged to stay clear of the area during school hours (7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.) as traffic is expected to increase with this closure.

The project is being primarily funded by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) as part of their Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP) and by Troy University. The City of Troy is also partnered on the project, contributing $135,000.

The project will create a new stretch of road to widen the drive to three lanes. CDG engineer Tim Ramsden said minimal trees will be removed to accommodate the new road.

For more information, contact CDG Engineers Project Manager Daniel Wells at 334-222-9431, Chilton Contractors Inc. Project Manager Kyle Tignor at 205-217-3554, or Melissa Sanders at 334-670-6058.