Road Closures to Precede 3-Year ALDOT Flyover Project on Tuscaloosa’s Highway 69
A road closure this week will be the first disruption leading up to a 3-year Alabama Department of Transportation project to transform Highway 69 in Tuscaloosa.
This Wednesday. ALDOT and the city of Tuscaloosa will close Canterbury Road and its median crossover at its intersection with Highway 69 to allow municipal crews to relocate utilities in the area.
The closure is expected to last until August 25th and other road closures for utility movement are expected this fall.
The work is a precursor to ALDOT's Highway 69 Flyover Bridge project, which will eventually see the highway lifted over its current intersection with Skyland Boulevard around the movie theater and Lowe's hardware store.
The corridor draws almost 60,000 vehicles daily, ALDOT spokesperson John McWilliams said, and traffic clogs there frequently. The flyover will eventually alleviate that.
"The flyover bridge will allow traffic to pass through the intersection of Highway 69 and Skyland Boulevard without stopping," McWilliams said. "The project will also add northbound and southbound lanes from the Interstate 20/59 interchange to Plantation Road. This bridge will include separate ramps for vehicles to access I-20/59 and additional lanes to bring motorists down to the surface to gain access to Skyland Boulevard or Oscar Baxter Drive."
The project is a collaboration between ALDOT and the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission expected to go to bid in early 2024 and require approximately three years to complete.