Committee approves design contract for Jack Warner Parkway–AL‑297 intersection improvements

The Tuscaloosa City Public Projects Committee on an unspecified date approved a professional services agreement with Duncan Coker Associates to design improvements at the Jack Warner Parkway and Alabama 297 intersection, a corridor that links to Bryant Bridge.

The committee heard that the intersection currently experiences heavy congestion in morning and afternoon peak periods that overwhelms existing dedicated turn lanes. Bill (city staff), the presenter, said the design will add and lengthen dedicated turn lanes, add an acceleration lane off the Bryant Bridge and reconfigure an on‑ramp to reduce unnecessary merging and improve through traffic flow. “Volumes flowing through the intersection during peak morning and afternoon hours are just overwhelming some of the available, dedicated turn lanes and it creates congestion and unnecessary delays,” Bill said.

The project will focus on doubling the length of an existing left‑turn stacking lane on the eastbound approach, adding an acceleration lane on the westbound approach coming off Bryant Bridge, and extending separation on an on‑ramp that currently forces a merge back to two lanes. Bill said the work is intended “to improve the traffic flow to the intersection” and described the design/permitting timeline as “about a year” with construction “6 months” once permits and final estimates are in place.

Funding for the design phase was described as coming from the city’s general fund account referenced in the meeting as “general fund R5,” which the presenter said was approved in the prior year’s budget cycle. Committee members asked where the later construction funding would come from; staff responded that additional funding remains in the budget but that the final construction cost must await the design and final estimate.

The committee moved, seconded and approved the agreement. The motion and vote were recorded in the meeting transcript as a standard committee approval; no roll‑call vote names or counts were provided in the transcript.

Why it matters: the intersection connects a state highway to a major bridge approach and is a recurring congestion point during peak travel hours. The project is at the design stage and will need permitting and a final cost estimate before construction funds are confirmed.

Next steps: staff will complete design and permitting, return with a final cost estimate and, if necessary, a request for construction funding allocation or amendment.