Daphne City Council recently awarded the bid for a road project connecting County Road 64 to U.S. 98.

A new road, Lavender Lane, will provide residents and visitors access to businesses such as Chick-fil-A and Target. Lavender Lane will route drivers behind Chick-fil-A, and a new traffic signal will be installed in front of the Daphne Police Headquarters. The project will also eliminate left-hand turns from Chick-fil-A onto U.S. 98.

"We are making major improvements there to help the safety of our citizens," Mayor Robin LeJeune said.

LeJeune said this project has been five years in the making. People will begin seeing construction early in 2024. Some inconvenience when traveling in the area will occur, but LeJeune said they have asked the contractors to limit road closures to night whenever possible.

The bid for the project was awarded to John G. Walton Construction Company Inc. for $4.788 million.

This project, which will begin early in 2024, is a joint project between the city and state and includes federal funding. The city was awarded a pass-through grant of $2.2 million from the Alabama Department of Transportation.

According to documents in the press packet, the total project cost has been bid at $5,619,974. That amount includes $4.8 million for construction, $478,795 for engineering, $113,750 for the relocation of Riviera utility poles and $239,401 for contingency. The city of Daphne will pay $3.4 million, which was part of the Fiscal Year 2024 city budget.