Rain delays Bethel work

Any lead that construction workers had on the Bethel Road project is gone, thanks to the more than six inches of rain that fell over the last two weeks.

Hartselle Department of Development Director Jeff Johnson said that construction workers from Reed Contracting Services in Huntsville spent last week repairing a lot of the damage from the heavy precipitation, most of which fell on July 4 and caused flooding across the area.

“We were about a week ahead of schedule before July 4,” Johnson said. “Now, it’s going to be tight to get the project finished in time for the start of school.”

Reed Contracting Services of Huntsville was awarded the contract for their low bid of $664,841.96. The company began work on May 28 and was given 80 days to complete the project. There are 84 days between Memorial Day (May 27) and the start of school (Aug. 19).

Despite the setbacks from the weather, Johnson has been pleased by the work of the construction company so far and said the company would not face any fines due to weather-related delays.

“They’ve had workers out here every day since the project began,” Johnson said. “I still anticipate that we can still finish on schedule as long as we can have some good weather over the next few weeks. As long as they do all they can to finish the project on time, I don’t think they will face any penalties if they miss the deadline due to the weather.”

The project is covering nearly one mile of roadway on Bethel Road. The road will be widened to three lanes in front of both F.E. Burleson and the new high school. There will also be right-hand turn lanes and acceleration lanes at both school entrances.

Bethel Street will be widened at the intersection of Bethel Road to three lanes to increase safety.

Stacking turn lanes will be added on southbound Bethel Road at the Main Street intersection to improve traffic flow.

The stacking left turn lane on Main Street eastbound will be doubled in length to keep traffic moving through the intersection.

The Roan Road intersection on East Main Street will be widened, allowing school buses to make the turn.