By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Alabaster, county and Alabama Department of Transportation officials are seeing progress on several pending road projects in the city, and are looking to have a few of them completed as early as next year.

During an August meeting, the Alabaster City Council voted to approve the installation of new traffic signals at the intersection of Alabama 119 and Shelby County 80. City officials previously said the signals will help to alleviate frequent congestion at the intersection, particularly for those living in Wynlake and other subdivisions on Shelby County 80.

In an Oct. 9 email, Alabaster City Manager George Henry said a bid for the installation of the traffic signals has already been awarded, and said crews currently are working to move utilities to accommodate the new signals.

The new signals likely will be completed in early 2014, according to Henry.

Alabaster officials also are working with ALDOT and the Federal Highway Department to begin engineering and environmental studies on a project to widen Alabama 119 between Shelby County 26 and Shelby County 80.

In 2012, the state approved about $10 million in funding to four-lane the section of Alabama 119 through its Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program. No completion date has been set for the widening project.

Alabaster leaders previously said the new traffic signal at the intersection of Alabama 119 and Shelby County 80 is being installed with the widening project in mind.

A third project to widen Thompson Road between Warrior Drive and Alabama 119 is in the “final design phase with ALDOT,” and likely will begin construction by late 2014, Henry said.

The project will add a new westbound turn lane on Thompson Road from Stadium Drive to Warrior Drive, replace the Thompson Road bridge over Buck Creek and add a sidewalk along Thompson Road from Warrior Drive to Stadium Drive.

As part of the Thompson Road project, Alabaster leaders also are working with the county to extend the Buck Creek Trail from its current terminus near the Alabaster Parks and Recreation office to Thompson High School and the Alabaster YMCA.