Cove-area streets and roads fall under the jurisdiction of several entities: the City of Huntsville, Madison County, and State of Alabama (ALDOT). Every year, a portion of these transportation facilities have routine maintenance performed on them, such as repaving and restriping. Here is a list of facilities in the Cove that are slated for improvement in 2019.
City of Huntsville:
- Joey Circle from Joey Road to end
- Joey Road from Ashley Road to end
- Raincreek Trail from Spicewood Trail to Saddletree Boulevard
Madison County:
- Old Big Cove Road
- Hobbs Island Road
- Little Cove Road
- Green Mountain Road
- Old 431
- Cherry Tree Road
- Old Gurley Pike
ALDOT:
- Governor’s Drive (US 431) from Basset to Old Big Cove Rd*
Please note that the weather must be conducive to roadwork for these maintenance projects to happen. Specifically, to repave a street, the temperature should be 40 degrees and rising. To restripe, it should be over 50 degrees and dry (for several days).
These kind of routine maintenance projects are typically implemented quickly (i.e. a few hours to a few days) and have relatively minimal impact on daily travel.
Further information on currently scheduled infrastructure projects and plans with larger scopes (bridge replacement, safety improvements, MPO Long Range Transportation Plan, etc) can be found here: https://growcove.org/2018/09/big-coves-big-needs-on-transportation-and-access/
* Note: While pavement work on 431 (and other state routes) is routinely scheduled as part of a regular maintenance cycle, resurfacing a state route is a more involved process than repaving local roads, and requires milling down the top layer of asphalt and then building it back up. As per general ALDOT practice on heavily traveled routes, and in consideration of local requests, resurfacing of 431 will be completed at night, in small sections, for the duration of the maintenance project this Spring.
Sources:
Madison County – Engineering Department
City of Huntsville – https://www.al.com/news/2019/02/is-your-road-on-huntsvilles-repaving-list-for-2019.html
3 Comments
Big Bear · February 11, 2019 at 5:16 pm
Are these roads going to be paved while Cecil Ashburn is under construction?? SMH
eric johnon · May 1, 2019 at 1:32 pm
Yes. Yes on 431 – but as the note says they agreed to do it at night to avoid causing problems. Honestly, I don’t see anything really wrong with 431. This is one of those “it’s on our schedule so we do it whether we need to or not”. While at the same time HSV city roads are falling apart all over the city. There should be a way for the state to redirect funds slated for a geographic area to where they are really needed, not just what is on the schedule. Same with city roads. I see some get repaved that are fine (20 year schedule according to city), while others in horrible shape. I wish the city would send its road crews to “asphalt patching 101,” and make sure they have the right equipment, because the results seem to show that neither of those has happened.
eric johnson · May 1, 2019 at 1:29 pm
If they are going to repave Hobbs, they need to SERIOUSLY consider putting in guard rails along the raised sections that go over the swampy areas. That has to be the most dangerous section of road I’ve drive in this entire area. I’ve I never drove it, in 12 years, until this year because of the Cecil closure. If was touted as a main alternate, but you wouldn’t get me on it in the dark or bad weather. someone swerving a foot in my lane in those sections would cause me to go off the road, tumble down a steep embankment, and most likely end up upside down – possibly in water!
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