Tuscaloosa Council Votes to Name New Bridge Over North River After Legendary Local Engineer

Tuscaloosa leaders voted Tuesday to name a new bridge that will carry motorists over North River on the extended McWright's Ferry Road after a legendary local engineer and his late wife.

The Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission's roughly $70 million project to add to McWright's Ferry Road is almost finished and will connect Rice Mine Road to New Watermelon Road.

The new road will provide quick access to Lake Tuscaloosa, Lake Nicol, and Harris Lake, reduce emergency response times, and facilitate significant residential growth in north Tuscaloosa.

It also adds a shared use path that will one day connect to the Northern Riverwalk, including a pedestrian bridge over the same stretch of river.

Get our free mobile app

On Tuesday, the Tuscaloosa City Council voted to name the new bridge spanning North River after Leroy and Ruth McAbee.

McAbee, who was born in Henagar, Alabama, to Homer and Sarah Mae McAbee, joined the U.S. Army after graduating high school and served for three years with the Army Combat Engineers in Korea during the war there.

Following his discharge and a few odd construction jobs back in the United States, McAbee enrolled at the University of Alabama. There, as a student, he founded McAbee and Company. That humble engineering company, now almost 65 years old, has grown into one of the largest heavy industrial contractors in the southeast, and its Fabrication Division is also among the biggest in the region.

His late wife, Ruth, also served as the company's secretary and treasurer for decades. She passed away in 2015.

In addition to their astounding business success, the McAbee family has been a pillar of the community, and Leroy McAbee has served on the University of Alabama’s President’s Cabinet and supported causes including the Boy Scouts of America, the United Way, the DCH Foundation, and the Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority.

He is a member of the Alabama Business, Engineerin,g and General Contracting Halls of Fame.

The resolution adopted on Tuesday names the new bridge across North River in their honor as the Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Mcabee, Sr. Bridge, "in lasting recognition of their service, achievements, and unwavering commitment to the people and future of Tuscaloosa." It passed unanimously.

The extension project will wrap up later this year and, according to the latest public update, the new road's final asphalt layer was being placed this month.

For more coverage of this project and others across West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.