HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — All four lanes of Cecil Ashburn Drive are officially open.
Construction to widen Cecil Ashburn Drive from two to four lanes began in January last year. On Thursday, crews picked up the remaining orange barrels on the road.
Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said, "I think there were 450 barrels out here, and as we pick those up, we're finishing up an $18 million project."
Mayor Battle says the project came in under budget and was completed four months ahead of schedule. Now that it's fully open, getting to and from Old Big Cove Road and Four Mile Post Road is much easier.
Director of Engineering for the City of Huntsville, Kathy Martin, said, "The capacity on this road, initially for this two lane road was about 14,000 vehicles per day, and we were already seeing about 17,000 vehicles per day using this road."
Engineers had safety in mind when designing the road. Now, there are eight-foot shoulders along each side of the road for cyclists and pedestrians and a median cut at the top of the mountain for emergency vehicles.
"Some of the safety features that we added was the concrete divided median, raised median that will reduce the crossover traffic. We also installed an open grade asphalt friction layer on the top that will also help with the drainage on this mountain," said Martin.
As Huntsville continues to grow, this project will help carry the city into the future.
Director of Urban Development for the City of Huntsville, Shane Davis, said, "You're seeing new development happening in Hampton Cove because of this investment. Even though the road, we're just opening it today, there's decisions being made by corporations because of that investment to get started and be open by the time the roads open."
City leaders say they appreciate the patience of the public during this project and are happy to give it back to the community.
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