Dec. 30—The $10 million beautification of Sixth Avenue could officially start Tuesday night at the first Decatur City Council meeting of 2024.
The City Council starts the new year with a Tuesday meeting because of the New Year’s Day holiday. The agenda review work session starts at 5 p.m. followed by the meeting at 6.
The city has been preparing for more than two years for the Sixth Avenue streetscape project.
City leaders want to beautify the 1-mile stretch of Sixth Avenue Southeast/U.S. 31 between the Hudson Memorial bridges and Delano Park so that it’s more attractive for people entering Decatur from the north.
“It’s no different than the foyer of your home,” Mayor Tab Bowling said Wednesday. “It’s welcoming to our residents and guests — those looking to make their homes in Decatur or invest in a business.”
Councilman Kyle Pike, whose District 2 includes this portion of Sixth Avenue, said he’s heard some opposition to the streetscape, but he believes it’s a good project.
“I think it’s important to continue to beautify the city,” Pike said. “This will kind of bring that same aesthetic that we have in the downtown area out to Sixth Avenue so people will be going through the city and not around it.”
Pike said he hopes the beautification “will inspire some business owners to clean their properties up and make them more attractive to people.”
The City Council will consider Tuesday night two agreements that prepare the city to seek bids on the project. The council plans to use half of a $20 million bond issue to fund the project.
Bowling said he’s interested to see the how high the bids are.
“They will tell us whether we are going to do the beautification all of the way to Prospect (from the bridges), or whether will we need to stop at Lee or Moulton,” Bowling said. “Either way it’s going to be a dramatic improvement.”
The plan for the project includes adding wider walkways, converting portions of the center turn lane into medians with flower beds and blocking some roads from turning left onto Sixth Avenue.
“Basically, we’ll have new sidewalks, main street lighting and the utilities for most of the corridor will be underground,” Bowling said. “There are some utilities where it’s just not possible to bury them.”
If bid numbers allow the city to accomplish everything it wants, Bowling said the project will include the removal of the traffic signals at the Sixth Avenue intersections with Prospect, Jackson and Johnston streets, the streets from which left turns would no longer be permitted.
The City Council will also consider an agreement for the installation, operation and maintenance of traffic-control signals and roadway lighting along Sixth Avenue, from Lee Street Northeast to Prospect Drive Southeast.
The city has been waiting on the architectural plan and subsequent Alabama Department of Transportation approval and permits.
Bowling said that ALDOT permits are in.
“This gives us approval to seek bids (on the rest of the project),” Bowling said.
The council will vote Tuesday on an agreement that authorizes ALDOT and its contractor to review the foundations for new traffic signals at the Sixth Avenue intersections with Gordon Drive, Grant, Moulton and Lee streets.
The cost would be $5,000 and the money would come from the city’s general fund unassigned balance, the resolution says.
The new signals will be installed on black, long-armed poles like those in the downtown area, Bowling said.
The mayor said they plan to award a second bid soon on the causeway lighting project. In July, they estimated the cost of replacing 78 light fixtures, almost all now inoperable, on the Hudson Memorial bridges and part of the causeway at $837,140.
They then obtained a $477,189 grant from the federal Carbon Reduction Program through the Decatur-area Metropolitan Planning Organization to offset some of the cost.
“We had to bid it again because it went to MPO so the bids had to meet federal guidelines,” Bowling said.
Council President Jacob Ladner said he’s been disappointed at how long it’s taken to get both the Sixth Avenue and U.S. 31 causeway lighting projects started.
“It can be frustrating when you don’t work with government over how long things take,” Ladner said. “I hope we can get both of those projects moving really quickly.”
— [email protected] or 256-340-2432. Twitter @DD_BayneHughes.
Elaine Hadley is a dedicated journalist covering the ever-evolving landscape of U.S. news. With a keen interest in politics and a commitment to uncovering the truth, she provides insightful commentary and in-depth analysis on domestic issues. When not reporting, Elaine enjoys exploring the diverse cultures and landscapes of the United States.
