By Randy Garrison 

The new year has been a busy one so far at City Hall and for all city departments. At the rate things are moving, 2021 will be one for the record books.  

New housing continues to be on the increase. As a matter of fact, 51 new housing lots will be approved at Tuesday’s planning commission meeting.  

This past year was a good one for new homes in Hartselle, and this year so far seems to be following the trend. 

Road projects have been discussed several times in the past couple of months, and we are all excited for the upgrades and changes expected to begin this year. While all might not be completed, the projects will be in the works and completed in the near future.   

To update everyone on Highway 31 paving, the final striping and marking of the northern section of the highway will most likely not take place until spring. The temporary striping was completed at the end of paving, but the final requires higher outdoor temperatures. The Alabama Department of Transportation handles this project and will make the decision as to when the final application will be laid on the new asphalt. 

Construction for a turn lane at the new Taco Bell location and lanes for the Hartselle Medical Facility are in the works. Both of these additions will make left turns into both facilities much easier. 

The Vaughn Bridge Road upgrade will make traveling this intersection much easier for those using Stewart Street and coming into Hartselle from Vaughn Bridge Road. Traffic continues to increase at this intersection and will do so as commercial growth continues on the northern end of Highway 31. 

With the added traffic at Lando Cain and Highway 36, improvements at this intersection are much needed. With the construction of Cain Park as well as more development at Heritage Heights, and with upcoming commercial development at the Cracker Barrel, many more vehicles will be trying to exit Lando Cain onto Highway 36 and enter Lando Cain from Highway 36.  

Another upcoming project will be Pattillo Street, which has needed paving for some time now; however, Hartselle Utilities plans to do a sanitary sewer line upgrade on this street beginning very soon. The current sewer line runs down the middle of Pattillo and will require the street to be dug up.  

The City of Hartselle did not want to spend thousands of dollars to repave this street only to have it dug up within a short period of time. Once the sewer line work is completed, plans will be put into place to repave Pattillo and make it a smooth roadway once again. 

Other paving projects will be announced soon, and hopefully the City will be able to have pavers working on our roads this year.  

Not to make excuses, but when times are good, paving companies are extremely busy and take on many large jobs. While our streets and paving are very important to all of us, we sometimes must wait on larger jobs to be completed.  

We are always pushing for better streets and roadways for all of our citizens to drive and travel. 

As I mentioned earlier, more houses are in the works, leading to more traffic in our city. This calls for better intersections, smooth asphalt and better traffic control to ensure smooth traveling for everyone.  

Hang on; we are moving forward.