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By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

ALABASTER – After months of construction, Alabaster Boulevard has reopened to through traffic.

After recently facing a delay, construction on Alabaster Boulevard  has progressed enough to allow through traffic as of Tuesday, Oct. 31.

“Alabaster Boulevard has reopened to through traffic, and what a smooth ride it is,” read an official Facebook post by the city of Alabaster.

Jimmy Gould Drive is set to open soon and the contractor is currently wrapping up driveway tie-ins, paving on Progress Drive and paving a patch in front of Westwood Baptist Church during the next few days.

The city requests that local residents drive carefully while this work is completed.

News of the road reopening comes after contractors recently encountered foundation issues, delaying the road’s opening past its original planned completion date of Oct. 15.

Previously, the contractor working on the repaving of Alabaster Boulevard recently encountered worse-than-expected conditions in regard to the road’s foundation near the intersection of the road with Weatherly Club Drive.

The issue with the foundation called for a total removal and rebuild of that section of the roadway. Construction crews received daily advising by a geotechnical firm as they worked to remedy the foundation issues.

In order to fix these issues, the road was projected to remain closed until Nov. 1.

The repaving of Alabaster Boulevard was first approved in April in the amount of $7,051,382.50 to Massey Asphalt Paving, LLC. Despite the foundation issues and delay, the project is expected to stay on budget.

The nearly 1-mile project stretches from Weatherly club Drive down to Jim ‘N Nick’s in the Colonial Promenade.