Road construction will shift traffic on I-59 from Reece City to Collinsville

Drivers be aware — the Alabama Department of Transportation says traffic on several miles of Interstate 59 between Reece City and Collinsville will be shifted to the southbound roadway beginning this week.

The shift in traffic is expected to last for about a year and will affect about a 5.5-mile stretch of the highway.

ALDOT Spokesperson Seth Burkett said transitions have been constructed and barriers are in place on I-59 southbound from near mile marker 194, south of Stephens Gap Road in northern Etowah County, to about a mile north of the DeKalb County line.

Preparations continue, he said, but the contractor, Wiregrass Construction, anticipates moving northbound traffic to the inside southbound lane on Thursday or Friday, so reconstruction of the northbound roadway can begin.

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Burkett said the $44 million project will reconstruct a total of about 11 miles from south of Stephens Gap Road to south of Exit 205 (Alabama Highway 68). Work on the remaining 5.5 miles approaching Exit 205 will begin after the southern segment of the work is complete.

The estimated completion date is the summer of 2024. Burkett said motorists should expect delays and plan for additional travel time.

This project, combined with a recent $25 million project involving about 8 miles of I-59 northbound in Fort Payne, represent an investment of about $70 million in reconstructing the I-59 corridor in Northeast Alabama.