Portions of McGregor to close Monday morning as city begins second phase of construction – WKRG News 5

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — City of Mobile kicked off the second phase of its McGregor Avenue Project Monday morning. The McGregor area between Airport Boulevard and Dauphin Street will be closed for two years for construction. Long projects are causing headaches for drivers and homeowners who live on the road before construction begins.

The second phase of the McGregor project has been underway for nearly 15 years. The project will cost $23 million and the city plans to widen the section between McGregor and the airport and install a roundabout at the intersection of Dauphin and McGregor.

The project also includes drainage, improved traffic signals and lighting, and the addition of sidewalks.

Homeowners like Robert Head live on that intersection. There are construction barrels and signs in front of his house, indicating that commuting will be affected. Something he’s less excited about.

“I work on the other side of the airport,” Head said. “So I usually go to work this way, but I guess I’ll have to find another route.”

Others, like Claire Morgan, who works at Fleet Foot on Airport, will be inspired by the way she works with this project.

“I work at a school and use McGregor,” Morgan said. “So during the summer I use the airport, but I also go there a lot.

For Driver, learning the length of the project came as a shock. Because some drivers didn’t know the project would last his two years.

“Yeah, it’s been a long time. Don’t you agree?” said one driver.

“No, I didn’t. It’s kind of a big inconvenience. They just block it and we have to suffer in traffic.”

One driver thinks having a roundabout on Dauphin Street is not the best idea.

“Priority should be given to different areas of the city rather than building another sidewalk or another roundabout that no one knows how to use,” said one driver.

While the project may cause delays and increase traffic for many, some drivers are happy to see the city’s plans to ease congestion on McGregor Avenue.

“This road is always too narrow for the amount of traffic on it, so something had to be done,” another driver said.

While doing that stretch for McGregor at the end, Robert Head hopes construction doesn’t take too much time away from his daily routine, as drivers expressed dissatisfaction.

“I think it’s a good thing in the end,” Head said. “I know it’s been two years since the traffic will be terrible. I hope the roundabouts will help, but it’s going to take some getting used to.”

McGregor Avenue is restricted to McGregor and residents living in emergency vehicles only.

Alternate routes include University Boulevard, Interstate 65, Airport Boulevard, Spring Hill Avenue, Old Shell Road, Bit & Spur Road, and Interstate 65 Service Road.

The city has already begun Phase 1 of the McGregor Avenue project, which will focus on the stretch between Old Shell Road and Spring Hill Avenue. The city notes that the project is in no way related to the project scheduled to start Monday morning.

Construction on Phase 2 begins at 9:00 am on Monday