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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Lane closures have started at night as the Alabama Department of Transportation’s project on U.S. Highway 31 began this week. The project will resurface 7.1 miles of road, add two feet of safety widening, install guardrails and add new traffic striping to the highway. The work is being done between the intersections of Inverness Drive in Clanton and Collins Street in Thorsby, and work in the northbound lane started this week.

Lane closures are only allowed between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., but residents and motorists should expect delays if traveling on Highway 31 during those times.

Also, during the project, ALDOT will be restriping Highway 31 from four lanes to three lanes just north of Cherokee Road to Medical Center Drive in Thorsby. The new layout between Cherokee Road and Medical Center Drive will have a through lane for northbound and southbound traffic, and it will add a continuous left-turn lane. This addition will help the flow of traffic through downtown Thorsby such as avoiding stopped cars in the northbound lane waiting to make a left turn, and reducing traffic when trains come through town.

Dunn Construction Company is heading up the project and it is expected to take six months to complete, a September finishing date from March 1.