Mobile Thoroughfare To Close For Six Months

Get ready for another big road project that will close a busy thoroughfare in Mobile.
This time it's in west Mobile.
Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine made the announcement Thursday night at a community meeting for people who live in City Council District Six, represented by Connie Hudson.
Nodine said, "Many of you have been waiting to hear about Cody Road. Here's the good news and the bad news."
The good news is Cody Road will be expanded to three lanes between Cottage Hill Road to near Airport Boulevard.
The bad news, Nodine said, is "it will be closed for about six months. Progress is difficult."
Nodine said workers will have to replace a culvert in the the 1000 block of Cody Road South with a bridge.
For some, this announcement might remind them of another big road project.
When asked if this were going to be another project like Florida Street, where motorists and business people were upset, Nodine said, "Absolutely not. The county doesn't do business that way. We're going to do everything that we can to maintain the integrity of the traffic flow."
Nodine said having two major roadways on either side of Cody, Hillcrest Road and Schillinger Road, will help.
Carol Cannon owns Engravings By Carol on Cody Road near Airport.
She said, "I'm excited, because more traffic means more business for me in the long run."
However, Cannon does have some questions about the project.
She said, "They can't close down Cody Road. There's too many (people) who live between here and Nan-Seas Restaurant. They can't just completely close it because, how will these people get home?"
Nodine said, "We're going to have multiple public hearings on this long before it takes place to get the people educated on where the detours will be and if we're going to have to close the road totally for that total six months."
Nodine said the money to make the improvements comes from the "Pay As You Go Program."
He said work should start by the middle of the year.