Two ongoing road projects on Alabama Highway 145 in Chilton County are expected to be complete later this year and in 2015.

The Alabama Department of Transportation is resurfacing a 3.6-mile stretch of Highway 145 beginning just east of U.S. Highway 31 in Clanton and ending at Interstate 65.

Work started Aug. 21 and should be finished sometime this winter, according to Fifth Division Engineer Dee Rowe with ALDOT.

“The work consists of removing some of the existing asphalt and replacing with new asphalt layers and is a part of ALDOT’s annual resurfacing program,” Rowe said. “There have been and will continue to be lane closures while work is ongoing.”

The project is federally funded with a contract amount of about $2.2 million.

“The pavement surface itself had just started cracking so much that it was just crumbling,” Chilton County Engineer Tony Wearren said. “It looked like a piece of glass that had just been shattered. Eventually, there would have been holes there. They were trying to repair the damaged surface.”

Another federally funded project ALDOT started Aug. 21 is a $3.2 million bridge replacement at Yellow Leaf Creek.

The bridge is located past the 212 exit on Highway 145, outside the city limits and roughly half a mile north of The Hickory Chip restaurant, Wearren said.

“This is part of ALDOT’s bridge replacement program, which replaces those bridges which are near the end of their functional lives,” Rowe said. “The work accomplished so far includes clearing the area, relocating utilities, and preparing to install a temporary bridge which will be used by traffic while the existing bridge is removed and replaced.”

Wearren said the new bridge will be “wider and safer” than the existing bridge.

“That was a narrow bridge,” Wearren said. “It’s just an upgrade and very well needed, though.”

The project should be completed by the winter of 2015, and except for intermittent lane closures, two lanes will remain open to traffic during the majority of the project, Rowe said.

“The public is urged to drive with caution and reduce their speed in both of these work zones,” Rowe said. “They should be alert to construction personnel and vehicles in these areas. We appreciate everyone’s patience while this important work is being accomplished.”