Old Newton Road in Daleville reopens after erosion

The road was closed off between Price Street and Glover Street after it sustained significant damage and road erosion from heavy rainfall in February.

The problem started when the 36-inch corrugated metal pipe underneath the road failed and was no longer providing support. The soil around the road then began to wash away creating holes up to 6-feet deep.

Joe Harmon, project engineer for David Hicks and Associates, Inc. Consulting Engineers, said the road could have caved in at anytime.

Daleville City Council members declared a state of emergency, Feb. 19, to repair Old Newton Road and the section of road was closed off the next day.

GenCon Associates, Inc. of Dothan was awarded the bid to perform the repairs at an estimated cost of $111,000.

However, as contractors began the project, they discovered it had been an abandoned dump site. The area was covered in debris, bottles, bedsprings and tires.

“There’s no telling how many years people have been dumping tires in there,” James said. “They dug down (about) 24 feet and were still digging tires up.”

James said the city had no idea about the tires until the project started.

“Years ago there was no law against dumping anything, anywhere,” he said. “But now you’ll get into a lot of trouble for it. “

James said about 500 tires were pulled out from the embankment.

Once all debris and tires were out of the way, contractors added a new corrugated pipe, filled the area with dirt, repaved and resurfaced.

James said within the next week he’ll add a guardrail on both sides as an extra precaution, but for now residents can drive on the road.

Along with the repairs of Old Newton Road, James said other road resurfacing projects could be coming to Daleville soon.

As part of annual maintenance resurfacing, the Alabama Department of Transportation is expected to begin work on Highway 84 in July.

The resurfacing and repaving will extend between Highway 85 west and Highway 84 at the Houston County line. Service road Virginia Avenue will also be resurfaced as part of the project. The resurfacing will cover the entire road.

According to ALDOT preconstruction engineer Matt Leverette, the project is standard routine maintenance, and the company will advise the public of temporary lane closures.

Leverette said the project will be let out for bids on May 31 and should begin about six weeks later.

Once in process, Leverette said the resurfacing could take about three months to complete and is estimated to cost the state $2.4 million.

For now, James said the city is looking into other road repairs for next year.

“There are some areas around town we’re looking at,” he said. “We’re going to get some estimates on repairing and then put in the budget for next year.”