Iron Mountain Road extension opens to traffic

May 8—Anniston city officials opened the long-awaited final stretch of Iron Mountain Road to traffic this morning, creating a new passage through the former Army base known as McClellan.

"This is a big deal, not only for the city of Anniston but for this entire region," Mayor Jack Draper said earlier today at a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting.

The newly opened stretch of road connects Alabama 21, just north of Anniston, to Iron Mountain Road, a highway that winds through the forests of what was once Fort McClellan, the massive military base that closed in the late 1990s. And that road in turn connects to McClellan Veterans Memorial Parkway, the expressway from Anniston to Oxford and Interstate 20.

Finishing this connector has long been a goal of local officials. Anniston inherited thousands of acres from the Army when the fort closed, but much of that land has remained out of reach because of the lack of a road network on some parts of the former base.

Local officials approved land clearing for the $4.6 million road project in 2012, but the work ran into obstacles. First, road workers discovered a historic set of World War I training trenches in the path of the highway, forcing engineers to redraw the road's path. Later, wet weather and drainage problems slowed construction.

City officials held their ribbon cutting, attended by about 25 people, at the roundabout where the new road meets Pappy Dunn Boulevard, the avenue between the industrial sites at McClellan Industrial Park. Local officials have long said they hope the new road will make the industrial park more convenient for manufacturers, but many local residents will have other uses in mind.

"I live north of Jacksonville, and this is going to cut 10 minutes off my drive into Golden Springs and Oxford," said Calhoun County Commissioner Lee Patterson. He said the new road is good news for the county highway department, which has its headquarters near the roundabout. But for most drivers, he said, the road will be a way to cross the former base without going through Lenlock.

The speed limit on Iron Mountain — both the old and new stretches — is 45 mph. Drive time from Alabama 21 to Interstate 20: 15 minutes.

Draper said the opening of the road was a victory for cooperation between local government agencies — in this case, the city and the McClellan Development Authority, charged with redeveloping land on the former base. He said the road will step up development at McClellan.

"Good things are coming," he said.

Capitol & statewide reporter Tim Lockette: 256-294-4193. On Twitter @TLockette_Star.