Marion officials gathered at Town Hall for a press conference on Friday to update the public on upcoming projects around town. Some of the projects discussed included the Dale Drive bridge replacement, the $3.4 million Corps of Engineers grant to build a new freshwater treatment facility, town hall and more.

Dale Drive

Efforts to replace a dilapidated bridge along Dale Drive have been in the works since last fall, when Lauderdale County was notified it had received $1.1 million for a bridge replacement project under the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund.

The bridge, which is just south of the Hamasa Temple Shrine, is one of the most heavily traveled bridges in the county with an estimated 12,000 cars crossing each day.

Included in the proposed project was the replacement of the current bridge with a wider, three-lane bridge and widening the road to three lanes from the bridge to the four-way stop at the intersection of Dale Drive and Lindley Road. An alternate was also included for contractors to bid on that would replace the four-way stop with a roundabout.

Mayor Larry Gill said Tuesday the single bid received on the project came in at almost double the engineering estimate and well in excess of the awarded funds. To make it work, he said, Marion and the county had to cut the roundabout and the three-lane road out of the equation.

Gill echoed earlier statements by county Road Manager Rush Mayatt that the bridge, which needs immediate attention, must be the priority.

“That bridge has been needing to be replaced for some time now, and so that’s what we need to take care of,” he said.

The bridge alone is set to cost $1.3 million, with Lauderdale County putting up the $200,000 in additional funds needed to complete the project. Although the roundabout and three-lane road will not be done now, Gill said getting the bridge taken care of will put Marion in a good position to do those projects when more funding becomes available.

“We are setting this up to finish this project,” he said. “It’s not going to happen all right now, but we have plans on continuing with the three-lane, continuing with the roundabout.”

Marion and county officials on Thursday met with representatives from Joe McGee Construction, which was awarded the project, to go over the plan in a pre-construction meeting, Gill said. The plan right now, he said, is for work to begin in mid-September.

Behind the scenes, materials have been ordered and are in the production process, but officials want to minimize the time the bridge is closed, Gill said. To do that, he said the contractor agreed not to close the bridge until all materials were on hand and ready to go.

“We don’t need to be in a situation where we close the bridge, and we’re waiting on materials, and it turns into a six- to eight-month closure when it could have been a three-month closure,” he said.

Supervisor Wayman Newell, who represents Marion as part of District 2, said the materials being ordered were pre-cast bridge pieces that will help speed up construction of the new bridge. Instead of creating the forms and pouring concrete, the pieces will just need to be secured in place.

Ahead of the closure, Gill said the town is working closely with area first responders to identify alternate routes and ensure agencies can respond promptly when needed.

More details about the bridge closure and detour options will be made available as they become available.

Newell said he wanted to encourage drivers to obey the detour signs. Once those signs go up, he said, that bridge will not be there, and vehicles will have to turn around.

Freshwater Treatment Plant

Construction of a freshwater treatment plant near Old Country Club and Pleasant roads is still in the environmental phase, Marion Town Engineer Shaun Miles said.

The Corps of Engineers, which is administering the $3.4 million grant funding the project, is conducting environmental assessments in the proposed location for the plant and will notify the town when work is complete.

“As soon as the Corps gives us clearance on the environmental, we can start on the project,” he said.

Town Hall

Marion is a growing town, Gill said, and with growth comes the need for more space, which is the problem with the current town hall.

Right now, town hall shares a building with the police department, which puts the town clerk and deputy clerks in close proximity to those detained by police.

“With the town hall project, we’re trying to get us in position to where the police department has their own space,” he said. “It’s not a good situation for the ladies in town hall to have to be here all day with people they’re bringing in.”

More than 20 homes have been built in Marion in the last 18 months, Gill said, and as more people look to call the town home, Marion Police Department will naturally see more traffic as well. The town has already contracted with an architect to come up with some preliminary designs and is expected to present them at the next Board of Aldermen meeting.

School Supply Giveaway

In other business, Marion Police Department will hold its annual back-to-school School Supply Giveaway on Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. at Marion Town Hall.

Police Chief Randall Davis said the goal is to make sure every child has the supplies they need to be successful this school year. No child, he said, will be turned away.

Davis said he wanted to thank the many people and organizations who donated money and supplies toward the giveaway effort.