By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM—The City of Pelham is currently seeking bids for three different road improvement projects. It will be accepting sealed bids for a widening project at the I-65 northbound entrance, a driveway modification project for Summer Classics and a surface repairs project for Deer Ridge Lake Subdivision.

Pelham city engineer Jesse Jowers, said he hopes to have construction begin as soon as possible on each of the projects. It just depends on the bid winning contractors and the weather.

“It represents continued growth and maintenance in the city of Pelham,” said Pelham Mayor Gary Waters. “We’re just going through the daily business of the city, fixing what needs to be fixed and adding what needs to be added. I’m pretty excited about it.”

Bids for the widening project at the I-65 northbound entrance ramp will be received until 9:30 a.m. July 1. The entrance ramp is located at County Road 52 and the Huntley Parkway Intersection. Jowers said the work will basically lengthen the entrance and will include improvements to the entire intersection.

Director of Public Works, Eddy Jowers, said the project creates an additional ramp lane going northbound off County Road 52. He said the improvements will hopefully also solve some of the traffic congestion in that area, especially once the school year starts back up.

Waters described the other open bids as necessary infrastructure improvements.

The bid for driveway modifications to Summer Classics at U.S. 31 and Yeager Parkway will be open until July 9 at 10:15 a.m.

“The Summer Classics driveway modifications really put us in a position to have commercial business in front of that building,” Eddy Jowers said.

This project includes improvements on the city property, involving both the driveway and U.S. 31. He also said there will be some work to the storm sewer pipes, and improvements that will realign the intersection to become an “X” instead of a “T.” Eddy Jowers said the “X” intersection is a safer design.

The bid for Deer Ridge Lake Subdivision will be open until July 8 at 10 a.m. It’s the final coating to the surface of roads in that subdivision, according to Eddy Jowers. Developers put in the existing base for the roads several years ago, but went bankrupt before finishing.

Eddy Jowers said the project will only include the roads in the subdivision that have homes. It will not include the undeveloped sections of the subdivision.

The Pelham City Council will vote on the winning bid publically at a city council meeting following the closing date of each bid. Each bidder is responsible for inspecting the location and will be required to honor their bid.