Woolsey Finnell Bridge replacement set to begin in spring 2025

Ken Roberts, Tuscaloosa News
·2 min read

The Alabama Department of Transportation expects work to being next spring on a massive project that will replace and widen the Woolsey Finnell Bridge on U.S. Highway 82 in Tuscaloosa.

The $125 million project will convert the bridge from four lanes to six, with three lanes in each direction.  Work on the 1.42-mile project is expected to take more than three years to complete.

More: Who was Woolsey Finnell? Bridge namesake had strong Tuscaloosa ties

Two lanes of the bridge will remain open in each direction at all times during the construction in an effort to lessen the impact on traffic, according to ALDOT.

Traffic moves across the Woolsey Finnell Bridge in Tuscaloosa Tuesday, June 20, 2017. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]
Traffic moves across the Woolsey Finnell Bridge in Tuscaloosa Tuesday, June 20, 2017. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]

ALDOT has scheduled a public meeting from 5-7 p.m. April 30 at University Church of Christ, 1200 Julia Tutwiler Drive, where residents can ask questions and look at exhibits that will provide more details about the project.

Other improvements associated with the project include a bicycle and pedestrian lane on the bridge, ramp modifications at Jack Warner Parkway and Campus Drive as well as additional lanes and signal optimization on U.S. Highway 82/McFarland Boulevard.

The Woolsey Finnell Bridge over the Black Warrior River opened in 1961, named for a Duncanville native, University of Alabama graduate and World War I hero who later served as Tuscaloosa County probate judge and head of the state highway department.

Woolsey Finnell was a Duncanville native and University of Alabama graduate who served in the military during World War I. He also served a city engineer for Tuscaloosa, and as probate judge of Tuscaloosa County from 1923-27.
Woolsey Finnell was a Duncanville native and University of Alabama graduate who served in the military during World War I. He also served a city engineer for Tuscaloosa, and as probate judge of Tuscaloosa County from 1923-27.

More than 50,000 vehicles use the bridge daily, according to ALDOT. Local officials have said in the past that the bridge exceeded its designed capacity in the 1990s and discussions about expanding the bridge date back to at least 2014.

The bridge connects the University of Alabama-adjacent U.S. Highway 82/McFarland Boulevard with north of the Black Warrior River Tuscaloosa.

More: River District Pedestrian Bridge connects park with site of the future Saban Center

The lion's share of the project's $125 million funding was included in a $1.7 trillion federal government funding package approved by Congress in late 2022.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox told The Tuscaloosa News in 2023 that expansion of the Woolsey Finnell Bridge will benefit residents for years to come.

"This bridge project, it has to be done right," Maddox said. "It has to be done in a way that's going to last 70 or 80 years."

Jan 20, 2023; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; The Woolsey Finnell Bridge spans the Black Warrior River, carrying the eastbound and westbound traffic on U.S. Highway 82 - McFarland Blvd. in Tuscaloosa.
Jan 20, 2023; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; The Woolsey Finnell Bridge spans the Black Warrior River, carrying the eastbound and westbound traffic on U.S. Highway 82 - McFarland Blvd. in Tuscaloosa.

Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: When will construction begin on replacement of Woolsey Finnell Bridge?