Stretch of Tuscaloosa’s Rice Mine Road to Briefly Close As $69 Million Project Passes Halfway Mark

A stretch of Rice Mine Road in Tuscaloosa will be closed to traffic for five days later this month, weather permitting, as the ambitious project to extend McWright's Ferry Road continues.

In a Thursday message, Tuscaloosa mayor Walt Maddox said the $69 million project to dramatically improve access to north Tuscaloosa and its lakes involves one million yards of earthwork, 37,500 tons of asphalt - that's 75 million pounds - and about two miles of new pipes.

He said this extension, funded by the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission, is more than halfway complete and will now require a brief closure of Rice Mine Road.

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Maddox said Rice Mine Road will be closed just south of the Bryant Bridge intersection from Friday, November 22, at 8:30 a.m. until Wednesday, November 27, at 5 p.m. Traffic will detour via Northridge Road and Ol’ Colony Road.

This was specifically planned so the closure begins after school drop-off ends on Friday morning and the rest will take place during fall break in Tuscaloosa, mitigating the impact this will have on traffic to and from schools in the area.

"I’m proud of the way the City’s team has worked with the design engineers and contractors to execute this work with the least possible impact to neighborhoods and school traffic," Maddox wrote in an update to citizens. "I’m thankful to the engineers, contractors and sub-contractors who will be working diligently to complete this work before the Thanksgiving holiday."

Mayor Maddox said some of the work will depend of favorable weather, and residents can stay up to date on the closure by texting MCWRIGHT to 888777.

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