Total contracts approach $240 million
ALDOT opened bids today for an I-59 reconstruction project to replace and rehabilitate parts of the aging southbound roadway in DeKalb County. The project is expected to push the total of contracts for the corridor’s reconstruction to nearly $240 million.
The project is the sixth in an ongoing effort to reconstruct the I-59 corridor in northeast Alabama due to deterioration of the underlying concrete. So far, four projects for reconstructing segments of the northbound roadway are ongoing or complete. This will be the second project to address a part of the southbound roadway.
The project will address about 16 miles of I-59 southbound from the Georgia state line to about a mile north of the US-11 overpass in Fort Payne. It includes total demolition and replacement of about 10 miles of the roadway and rehabilitation of another six miles.
Of three bidders, contractor Wiregrass Construction submitted the apparent low bid of $47,544,196. ALDOT anticipated bids between $45.4 and $55.4 million.
Construction is pending bid review and award of the contract. The project’s deadline for completion is Feb. 2, 2029.
Adding up
Following award of today’s contract, ALDOT will have awarded $239.2 million in contracts to reconstruct I-59 since 2020. Nearly two-thirds of I-59 from south of Stephens Gap Road north of Gadsden to the state line will be either under contract or already reconstructed, and ALDOT plans for additional projects if funding is sustained.
The effort is a costly but much-needed investment in the infrastructure supporting northeast Alabama.
Ongoing I-59 reconstruction
A $40.7 million project to reconstruct more than 10 miles of the southbound roadway in Dekalb and Etowah counties is ongoing. Contractor Vulcan Materials is working toward a planned 2027 completion of the segment between Collinsville and Reece City.
Wiregrass Construction on Tuesday shifted traffic to begin demolition of the southernmost four miles of an eight-mile project to replace the northbound roadway from north of Hammondville to the state line. The $41 million project is halfway complete; the contractor reconstructed the northernmost four-mile section and opened it to traffic last month.
Previous I-59 reconstruction projects
ALDOT previously completed three reconstruction projects on the corridor:
- In 2022, Wiregrass finished replacing eight miles of the northbound roadway through Fort Payne at a cost of $25.2 million.
- The following year, Wiregrass completed reconstruction of more than 10 miles northbound between Reece City and Collinsville at a cost of $44 million.
- Earlier this year, contractor A.G. Peltz Group completed the replacement of an eight-mile segment between Fort Payne and Hammondville at a cost of $40.8 million.
The southbound project let today will parallel two of the northbound projects — the ongoing project with Wiregrass Construction and the project A.G. Peltz completed earlier this year.
