FROM STAFF REPORTS

The eventual widening of Interstate 65 from Pelham to Calera got a jump start Monday when the state announced it will soon open bids for part of the project.

Alabama Department of Transportation officials will open bids Aug. 15 to widen Interstate 65 from Valleydale Road to Shelby County 52.

State officials had planned to open bids July 25, but pushed that date back because of a mandatory pre-bid conference for potential contractors.

That bid conference will be July 14.

Constructions could begin as early as October, with a completion date of July 1, 2011.

Later projects will widen the Interstate from Shelby County 52 to the airport exit and eventually to Calera