Bids sought for Hammitt Bridge project
By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
The long-awaited replacement of the old Hammitt Street Railroad Bridge and extension of Longhorn Pass has finally reached the bid phase.
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is seeking bids from interested contractors in this edition of the Hartselle Enquirer. The legal notice, which will be published for three consecutive weeks, seeks bids for the construction of a new, two-lane bridge over CSX Railroad at the intersection of Hammitt and Georgia streets. The grade, drainage and pavement of a two-lane roadway from Longhorn Pass to Georgia Street are included. The length of the project is 0.299 miles.
Bids will be accepted at ALDOT’s state office in Montgomery until 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, and publicly opened at that time. The award of a contract after the bid opening typically takes 30 to 60 days.
The bracket estimate on the project is from $1.8 to $2.2 million. According to the bid specifications, the proposed work will be performed in conformity with the rules and regulations for carrying out the Federal Highway Act and shall be completed in 90 working days.
The project was initiated in 2001 when city officials set up a local matching fund and reached an agreement with ALDOT to obligate $1.5 million for the project. The city was not required to contribute a local match. The agreement was re-negotiated last year with city officials pledging $300,000 toward construction costs above $1.5 million.
The Hammitt Street bridge project represented the first of four phases in the proposed construction of a north Hartselle bypass linking Vaughn Bridge Road to Highway 36 east at the I-65 interchange. The second phase calls for the four-laning of Highway 36 from the I-65 interchange to Roan Road (Dead Man’s Curve). A federal grant has been approved for the construction of that phase and application has been made for additional funding.
The use of the old Hammitt Street railroad bridge is currently limited to vehicles weighing less than 3,000 pounds. Consequently, large emergency vehicles are unable to make runs from one side of town to the other in a timely manner when the city’s four grade crossings are blocked by a train.
