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Tuscaloosa City authorizes easement to advance Black Warrior River barge moorings project
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Summary
City staff requested and the meeting authorized the mayor to sign a repairing easement with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to allow construction of six mooring piles — providing capacity for up to 10 barges — so the project can be advertised for construction.
Bill, a city staff member, asked the meeting to authorize the mayor to sign a repairing easement with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) to allow construction of a barge mooring system on state-owned submerged land. "This is a project that the city committed to back in 2020 with receipt of the build grant for the Tuscaloosa Landing Area Project," Bill said, describing the moorings as the final component of a multimodal effort that includes the Western Riverwalk and Jack Warner Parkway pedestrian bridge.
The staff presentation said the project would install six mooring piles — one vertical pile with two angled "batter" piles at each mooring cluster — drilled into the riverbed and spaced about 200 feet apart, producing mooring capacity for up to 10 barges when complete. Bill said the site is roughly 1,200 feet downstream of the Woolsey/Fennell bridge and that permitting involved coordination with the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Coast Guard and ADCNR.
During questions, a committee member asked how six piles would yield 10 mooring spaces and whether the city would operate the facility. Bill explained the pile configuration allows pairs of barges abreast between pile clusters and said the city intends to partner with a private operator to lease the facility. When asked about financial terms tied to the easement, Bill confirmed the matter discussed included a $10,000-a-year obligation related to the easement.
A motion to authorize the mayor to sign the repairing easement was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. Bill said the next step is to complete the easement paperwork and advertise the project for construction bids.
The project proponents framed the moorings as a way to improve safe river operations and storage for industries that move goods on the Black Warrior River; staff emphasized the lengthy permitting process required for work in the river and the project's role as the final major element of the Tuscaloosa Landing Area grant-funded package.
