Interstate 65 is scheduled to undergo four resurfacing projects in the coming months.

The projects will be completed in segments with an average of 7 miles resurfaced each time.

Laurel Land, senior planner for Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, helped direct a HARPO meeting at Jemison City Hall on Monday where transportation improvements around Chilton County were discussed for the next four years.

City officials such as Jemison Mayor Eddie Reed joined David Kemp, ALDOT region pre-construction engineer for West Central Alabama, and Ken Couch, ALDOT district manager for Chilton County.

A resurfacing project on I-65 from Exit 205 to Exit 212 is expected to have a contractor selected around June and should be ready to begin in September.

“It’s expected to be coming up soon,” Kemp said.

The entire project is scheduled to be complete in 2017.

“We will keep at least one lane open in the direction that we are doing our work,” Kemp said. “If we’re resurfacing the outside lane, the inside lane will be open. That is the typical procedure followed for a standard resurfacing job.”

According to Kemp, proper signs and advisory speeds will be displayed to slow down traffic within the construction area.

Under the current contract, both northbound and southbound lanes on Interstate 65 will be resurfaced in the designated area.

According to Kemp, though both sides will be completed, only one direction will be under construction at a time. Once one side of the road is completed, the other will begin.

The amount of time it takes to complete a resurfacing varies depending on the length of the project in terms of miles.

The total cost of the resurfacing plan on I-65 is estimated at $57,284,000 with $51,555,000 coming from federal funds and $5,728,000 from state funds.

Look for more information about other road improvement projects in future editions of The Clanton Advertiser.