Zierdt Road Improvements

No. Zierdt Road is a multijurisdictional project proceeding in accordance with federal criteria. Unlike other City-funded and managed projects, the roadwork involves the Federal Highway Administration, State of Alabama, Redstone Arsenal, Madison County, and the cities of Huntsville and Madison. The Alabama Department of Transportation administers the funding for construction per federal regulations. Through every step of the process, State and cities must meet federal regulations for design and construction standards, environmental assessment procedures, and acquiring right of way. There are no shortcuts in this lengthy federal process.

Yes. Several years into the project design, public input sessions asked for the addition of a pedestrian and bike path. A 12-foot-wide multiuse path was added on the west side changing the scope of work and the need to acquire additional right of way affecting the construction timeline. Due to scope changes and rising construction costs, what began as a $7 million project for one intersection eventually climbed to $25 million; taking the project from Martin Road through the intersection of Zierdt Road and Madison Boulevard. Federal and State entities are paying 80 percent of the cost with Huntsville paying 15 percent and Madison 5 percent.

Zierdt Road is a phased project. The Zierdt project started design in 2010 with a plan to widen the 3.5-mile road, from Madison Boulevard to Martin Road, to four lanes. Money was scarce so the project was divided into four phases to ensure resources were available to pay for the work. In 2009, the decision was made to dedicate funds from the Metropolitan Planning Organization in four phases, every three years, to finance the road improvements. Each project phase would take an estimated two to four years to complete. Contractors have completed three phases and are currently working on the final phase of the project.

Yes. Through each phase of construction, Zierdt Road has been kept functional for traffic. Closing the road for expedited completion was not an option in this location. Even with the inconvenience for motorists, Zierdt Road is in better shape and can accommodate traffic just as it did before work started. Meanwhile, Huntsville has moved forward with work to widen Martin Road, and make improvements to the northbound lanes near Edgewater Drive to ease future maintenance and flooding concerns. When complete, the City will have invested $70 million in new infrastructure to improve Gate 7/Martin/Zierdt Road.

No. This project is unique in many ways, some of which we have explained in the previous questions and answers – federally funded, federal guidelines and criteria, multi-jurisdictional, phased project, road open to traffic during construction, extensive right of way acquisition, change of scope, weather delays, etc. The graphic below may help illustrate some of the key differences.

Cecil Ashburn is not yet complete and work was not slowed down by weather conditions since it involved blasting rock on top of a mountain while Zierdt Road is being constructed in a low lying wet area that requires many feet of fill to raise the roadway.  The contractor only had three working days in January due to wet site conditions.

Yes. The project includes widening and raising the intersection of Martin/Zierdt to seven lanes and Madison/Zierdt to six lanes. The intersection work will take the longest since both will be built while traffic is still flowing. To ease traffic congestion, crews may only work on the intersections from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or at night and on weekends because of critical traffic flow in these areas.

The project is considered substantially complete, but the contractor will continue working toward completion of the punch list for the project until all work is completed.