City to rehab Waterway Blvd. West to accommodate auto, bicycle & pedestrian traffic

At its March 8 meeting, Gulf Shores City Council awarded a bid to J&A Contracting to install the Gulf Place shade sails for an amount not to exceed $40,000. The project will place custom-built shade sails over the Gulf Place playground and includes the concrete footers and erection of the columns and shade sails.
City to rehab Waterway Blvd. West to accommodate auto, bicycle & pedestrian traffic
By John Mullen
Gulf Shores City Council the council OK’d a contract to a consulting firm to access costs and construction to rehabilitate Waterway Boulevard West to better accommodate traffic as well as pedestrian and bicycle access improvements at its March 8 meeting.
The roadway is getting more traffic as development on the road continues to grow.
Improvements will include a 4-foot-by-24-foot box culvert to address roadway flooding. This part is being paid for by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restore Grant coming to the city in the fourth quarter of 2021.
“We’ve had a lot of requests to improve pedestrian safety on Waterway West as well as the overall roadway quality,” City Engineer Mark Acreman said.
Given the age of the road, Acreman expects a complete overhaul will be necessary to get it up to standards he says the city wants to build with its streetscapes plan.
“The road was built decades ago,” Acreman said. “More than likely it will be a complete rebuild of the road, they are going to do geotechnical work, take borings along the road and really establish what a true cost would be to upgrade that road to handle the projected traffic for the next 20 years.”
Part of the roadway improvements are being paid for by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restore Grant coming to the city in the fourth quarter of 2021. Barge Design Solutions is being paid $50,000 to produce detailed renderings of improvement options and the cost.
Mayor Robert Craft said having a plan in hand will help the city in the next round of applications for more Restore Act funding.
“That is important because the Restore Council will be in late 2021, early 2022 evaluating new proposals for roads and eligible projects with the Restore grant,” Craft, a member of the Restore Council, said.
“This would be one so for us to have an understanding of what it’s going to cost and the cost-benefit analysis is really important so that we’re prepared for a presentation of a project like that if that becomes our highest priority. We have to have some type of strategy of what we’re going to build and what it’s going to cost.”
At the meeting, City Council also approved a change order for work on Coastal Gateway Boulevard in the amount of $253,718 to contractor Hosea Weaver and Sons to take the total for the project from $9.2 million to $9.4 million.
Construction on the roadway has seen significant delays due utility conflicts, field changes and Hurricane Sally damage that resulted in $165,000 in damages to stormwater, utilities, curbing, paving, landscaping and base material and added an additional 3 months to the contract.
Additionally, infrastructure involving underground utilities was not properly located and had to be relocated. All of these factors resulted in 216 days of construction delays. The city has submitted the hurricane damages for FEMA/AEMA reimbursement.
During the meeting, the council:
• Awarded a bid to American Tennis Courts, Inc. for the Johnnie Sims Park tennis
complex restoration project to American Tennis Courts, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $175,000 to repair significant damage from Hurricane Sally on Sept. 16. Bids were opened on Feb. 23. Insurance will cover the entire cost, Acreman told the council.
• Awarded a bid to J&A Contracting to install the Gulf Place shade sails to J&A Contracting in an amount not to exceed $40,000. The city opened bids on Feb. 11. The project will place custom-built shade sails over the Gulf Place playground and includes the concrete footers and erection of the columns and shade sails.
• Approved a change order for Volkert, also on the Coastal Gateway Boulevard project, for overruns on costs for construction engineering and inspection due to the same delays on the construction project at a cost of $231,036. This pushes the design contract for the project to more than $1 million. About $15,000 of the overrun is due to Hurricane Sally damage and again, the city has submitted these damages for FEMA/AEMA reimbursement.
• Renewed the franchise for five years for cable TV provider Mediacom which netted the city $146,000 in revenue in 2019.
• Renewed the franchise for Beach Express Taxi for $200 annually to operate in the city. The company must also maintain a city business license which is based on gross revenues with a minimum of $135 annually.
• Approved an assembly permit for Music at Meyer Park’s annual spring schedule for March 25 with Kenny on the Keys, April 1 with Adam Holt, April 8 with The Selfless Lovers, April 15 with Red and the Revelers and April 22 with Funk You.
• Considered a zoning change to a portion of an 83-acre development on West 34th Avenue that is approved for 575 units.