By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – Repaving work on a portion of Alabaster Boulevard originally scheduled for this month has been delayed until July to allow more prep work for the project, according to city leaders.

The project originally was scheduled to begin on June 19, but has been delayed because “further work is needed on curbing around the center median,” read a city of Alabaster Facebook post.

The city has not yet finalized dates for the repaving work, but will post the schedule on the Alabaster City Hall Facebook page soon, according to the city.

Once the project is under way, it will require Alabaster Boulevard, which connects the Propst Promenade to the Weatherly subdivision, to be closed for multiple days.

During its April 24 meeting, council members voted unanimously to award a $104,895 bid from the Southeastern Sealcoating company to repave a portion of the roadway. Southeastern Sealcoating was the sole bidder on the project, which was advertised in March, and the funding for the bid will come from the city’s capital projects fund.

Through the project, the company will repair a sagging portion of Alabaster Boulevard between Westwood Baptist and Candlewood Suites, which affects both the north- and southbound lanes. The section is slightly north of Candlewood Suites, where the landscaped center portion of the road ends.

Alabaster Mayor Marty Handlon previously said the city is looking to complete the project during the summer months when traffic is typically light.

In 2014, an engineering study found the road to be in overall “poor” condition, with several sagging and damaged sections. Since the roadway was constructed in 2005, the road base and fill materials under the roadway have caused parts of the roadway to develop humps and “places where the pavement is graveling out,” Alabaster City Engineer Brett Tucker said previously.

The 2014 engineering study identified 11 areas in need of repairs, and the original bids to repair the entire roadway at once came in at about $750,000, which was significantly higher than the city had estimated.