Huntsville updates

[Huntsville_secede]

Moores Mill Road link in works
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Huntsville Times

Behind the scenes, work is beginning to build a service road on the south side of U.S. 72 to connect Moores Mill Road and High Mountain Road on Chapman Mountain.

The road is among the public improvement projects included in the latest tax increment financing district approved by local governments in the fall.

The City Council on Thursday night approved a contract with Harris Hill Development LLC for the developer to pay for the design of the project and any construction cost overruns.

Harris Hill Development, which is represented by Cole Walker and Ben Walker, plans a residential and commercial development on the south side of U.S. 72 across from Moores Mill Road, said Steve Dinges, an assistant director in the Huntsville Planning Department.

"The service road will go through their property," Dinges said. "They're trying to coordinate the location of the road with the development plan for their property."

The contract approved Thursday night requires Harris Hill Development to pay the city $337,000 for the city to hire an engineering firm to design the project.

The city will spend $5 million to build the road and the developer will pay any costs that exceed $5 million.

The developer must also donate any right of way or easements the city will need for the new road.

The road will be about three-quarters of a mile long and will be from two lanes to five lanes wide, Dinges said.

The city hopes to begin construction in April, he said.

Dinges said the road will be a minor collector road that will serve the Harris Hill development and future development in the area and in the High Mountain Road area.

The road, which will eventually connect to Old Gurley Road, will not be affected by the planned extension of the limited access of U.S. 72 through Moores Mill and Shields roads, Dinges said.


Slaughter work resumes

Work on installing turn lanes on Slaughter Road at Old Madison Pike is expected to begin again this week after a property access dispute was settled.

Ron Adams, the assistant director of the Huntsville Engineering Department, said the issue involved property for the right of way that the city said it owned and a property owner said he owned.

Adams said the property was considered "prescriptive" right of way because it had been used for right of way for many years. The dispute was settled by the city agreeing to give the property owner a curb cut, Adams said. The city closed Slaughter Road south of Old Madison Pike in July to build the turn lanes and cut the hill south of the intersection. But, work has been stopped since at least September because of the dispute.

Work will resume this week when the ground is dry enough for heavy equipment to move around, Adams said.

The project could be completed in three to four weeks, if the weather cooperates, he said.