Photo by Jon Anderson
A portion of Massey Road is closed for a road widening and repaving project on May 12, 2025.
A project to add a sidewalk on Massey Road and slightly widen the road has met an unexpected delay, City Manager Jeff Downes said.
A contractor on the site encountered a water main that did not show up on the engineering drawings, and that water main will have to be relocated, Downes said.
Downes informed the Vestavia Hills City Council about the delay on May 12 and said then he didn’t have a definite timeframe for the water main relocation, but it could potentially delay the overall project by two to three months.
Work began to rebuild a retaining wall on the southeast side of Massey in December, prompting closure of the western part of the road between Columbiana Road and Vestawood Court.
As of December, the entire project was expected to be completed by this summer, but it now looks like the job could stretch into the fall.
In addition to the new retaining wall and slight widening of the road in places, the job includes installation of 4,100 feet of a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the side of the road closest to U.S. 31 and a complete repaving of Massey Road.
Photo by Jon Anderson
A sidewalk is under construction on Massey Road in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, on May 12, 2025.
Map courtesy of city of Vestavia Hills
The portion of Massey Road shown in red is expected to be closed for construction of a retaining wall starting Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. That area plus the rest of the road (shown in yellow) is set for a sidewalk addition and repaving of the road.
CB&A Construction was the low bidder for the job at $4.6 million, state records show.
The project has been in the works since at least 2012, Downes said. The federal government is picking up 80% of the cost, and the city of Vestavia Hills is paying the rest.
