Downtown Huntsville aerial.JPG
Downtown Huntsville as seen from above on Feb. 13, 2014. (Courtesy XF Aerials)
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The long-planned Downtown Gateway road off Governors Drive has gotten the green light.
At its meeting Thursday night, the Huntsville City Council hired Wiregrass Construction to build the four-lane divided boulevard for $2.07 million.
Construction is expected to start in the coming weeks and take 12-15 months.
The new street will begin on the north side of Governors Drive across from Harvard Road. It will cross St. Clair Avenue and skirt the western edge of the Twickenham Square development before connecting with Lowe Avenue near Big Spring International Park.
The project includes demolition two vacant commercial buildings previously occupied by Quest Diagnostics and Pearce Construction, as well as a new bridge over Fagan Creek.
Wiregrass Construction will also extend Davis Circle past the downtown public library to create the final spoke on the Monroe Street traffic circle.
Downtown Gateway will have many of the same touches as the recently-refurbished Washington Street: extra-wide sidewalks; park benches; decorative street lighting; bicycle racks; and heavy landscaping.
Shane Davis, the city's director of urban development, said the new street has already spurred talk of "new office and restaurant-type development" along Governors Drive.
City officials hope it will also siphon some traffic away from Madison, Franklin and Gallatin streets, which all cross the Huntsville Hospital campus.
"We want to be able to spread that (medical district) traffic over multiple avenues, which would make it more pedestrian-friendly," said Davis.
Updated at 3:52 pm to better explain the route of the Downtown Gateway road and add that two commercial buildings will be demolished.
View Gateway Boulevard in a larger map