By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Council on Tuesday authorized Mayor Gene Melton to hire Joe Batrich of JNP Appraisal Services to appraise three areas the city must acquire to construct a future right turn lane on North Chalkville Road.
The rights-of-way that will be appraised are in front of First United Methodist Church of Trussville, Best Insurance and First Baptist Church of Trussville.
A Trussville historical marker
file photo by Ron Burkett
The city council in November 2014 authorized Melton to sign a contract with Skipper Consulting for the North Chalkville Road widening project. That contract is for $11,800.
Melton said Skipper Consulting will do work for the city with the Alabama Department of Transportation for the future right turn lane at the intersection of North Chalkville Road and Main Street.
The right turn lane will stretch from the intersection to Vann Circle. Several properties have already been acquired by the city.
Melton said in 2013 that it would cost about $2.2 million to acquire all the property necessary to construct the turn lane. The construction of the right turn lane will likely cost between $1 million and $1.5 million.
The goal at the time was to have the right turn lane in place sometime in 2016. It’s unclear if that is still the timetable.
Melton has said the city has to work to acquire the properties because the federal government declared the area historic and would not help with the project.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
