Roadwork begins at Fern St. & Hwy. 59; Sidewalks will connect Mills Park area

Roadwork begins at Fern St. & Hwy. 59; Sidewalks will connect Mills Park area

Access improvements on Fern Avenue at the intersection of Alabama 59 have begun. The project will start after the Memorial Day weekend. Construction is scheduled to be completed in six to eight weeks.
The work will include adding a right-turn lane and resurfacing on East Fern Avenue. The roadwork is anticipated to involve single-lane closures with flagging operations. Traffic control signs will be in place before construction begins.
Also, work has begun on walkways to link the Mills Community in west Foley with other areas of the city, including the park being planned in Mills.
The sidewalk will extend along Little Rock Road, Dailey Lane, a section of Baldwin County 65 and Mills Road before ending at the site where the community park will be built.
Mills residents voted in 2023 to have their community annexed into Foley. Mayor Ralph Hellmich said city officials have been working since that time to develop plans for the sidewalk and park.
“This has been about three years worth of work to get the rights of way,” Hellmich said. “Those rights of way out there are very narrow, about 40 feet. It’s a challenge to get a sidewalk in there and we had to address drainage.”
The mayor said community members are excited about the sidewalk project.
“Our ultimate goal is to tie it back along Airport Road, back to the Cedar Street complex, or at least get it to where our path ends at Hickory,” Hellmich said. “That way, we’ll have connections to other parts of our community.”