Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – John G. Walton Construction has submitted the winning bid for a more than $10 million construction project to add a third southbound lane to State Route 59 from the Target center to Fort Morgan Road.

In a memo to the council for the Nov. 21 work session, City Engineer Mark Acreman recommends the council accept the bid after opening them on Oct. 11. The city will use part of a Federal Highway Administration grant of more than $14 million in the agency’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development transportation grant program.

“The project will also provide intersection improvements along the route as well as access management to reduce vehicular accidents,” Acreman’s memo states. “The project is part of a $14.4 million BUILD Grant that the city was awarded by the FHWA in November 2019 to for capacity improvements to Highway 59. Included in the BUILD Grant are Highway 59 widening, medical village phase 1 and 2, pedestrian bridge and County Road 6 West Improvements.”

Construction is expected to begin in January and officials expect it will take two years to complete. Simultaneously, the Alabama Department of Transportation is expected to add the third lane on the southbound side from the Target center to County Road 8.

 “It is scheduled to start in mid-2023 and be completed with Phase 1,” Acreman’s memo states. “The BUILD Grant will provide $6.4 million in funding for this project. We have budgeted $5.3 million in matching costs in FY 2023 (budget). In addition, we will shortly advertise for utility relocation work for Highway 59 north of the Holmes (ICW) Bridge.”

The city is currently waiting for permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard before it can proceed with the pedestrian bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway at East Second Street near Tacky Jacks. BUILD GRANT money will also help fund this project.

McElhenney Construction was previously awarded the contract for phase 1 and 2 of the Medical Village Access improvements which included an access road from Cotton Creek Drive or County Road 4 to the freestanding emergency room and a traffic signal on State Route 59 at the entrance there to the FER. The second phase will include a traffic signal at the Cotton Creek entrance.

In May, the council announced plans to spend almost $3 million to begin the process of building a new Justice Center at the Cotton Creek Drive entrance of the Medical Village.

“This new facility will combine the police department, jail and municipal courts under one roof,” city documents state. “This project will provide significant enhancements for the police department, providing a modern up-to-date facility that will adequately fulfill the needs of the department.”

That $3 million will be in the form of two contracts to prepare design, construction and bid documents for the new center. One contract for about $2 million will go to Police Facility Design Group and a second for $910,000 to Volkert to assist with scheduling, design management, construction management and coordination.