Alachua to spend $2.1 million on major road project

The City of Alachua is moving forward with plans that would redesign the intersection of NW 142^nd Terrace and NW 150th Avenue.  The project also includes the installation of an underground storm water management system, sidewalks, street side parking and intersection realignment.

A major road and drainage project in the downtown area of Alachua is being moved closer to reality.  City of Alachua commissioners recently gave the okay to begin the process of obtaining land and land rights, paving the way for a complete overhaul of the intersection of NW 142^nd Terrace and NW 150^th Avenue.

The price tag for the project is estimated at $2.1 million, but city officials seemed hopeful that bids would come in lower given current economic conditions, especially in the construction sector.

In addition to paving, current plans also call for replacing the existing four-way stop with a roundabout at the intersection, one of the busiest in the downtown area.  The project’s scope also entails an entirely new underground storm water management system using crates or cages that would be installed underneath the Skinner Park baseball field.  Engineers working on the plan expect the underground system to provide a significant improvement in reducing flooding during heavy rains.

In keeping with the design theme of the Main Street and downtown area, both NW 142^nd Terrace and NW 150^th Avenue will also have curbs, storm gutters, sidewalks, red brick crosswalks and paved side-street parking.  The project would constitute the first major aesthetic connection between the Main Street and Alachua Towne Centre areas.

Although not depicted in the latest renderings, a portion of NW 142^nd Terrace is slated to be shifted eight feet westward.  The move would not only pull the sidewalks further away from the scout hut located along the road, but it would also allow for a realignment of NW 142^nd Terrace at U.S. Highway 441 to make the intersection more perpendicular.  The two roads meet at an angle that often impedes driver visibility.

The costs of the improvements are being funded through the city’s Downtown Redevelopment Trust Board (DRTB), a community redevelopment agency.  A portion of ad valorem taxes paid by property owners in the downtown district to the City of Alachua and Alachua County are set aside for projects of the DRTB each year.

Just last year, NW 150^th Avenue east of Main Street was repaved and updated through the DRTB.  The agency was also responsible for reconstructing Main Street to include its distinctive curve and red brick crosswalks decades ago.

Engineering plans for the NW 142^nd Terrace and NW 150^th Avenue project are about 90 percent complete, city officials say.  The acquisition of land and land rights necessary for the overhaul is expected to take a few months.