HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - The first new downtown access road in more than a generation could be under construction by this fall.

Huntsville needs to acquire four buildings, plus some additional right-of-way, before work can begin on the proposed Harvard Road extension.

The city's offer to pay appraised value has been accepted by all but one affected property owner, Planning and Zoning Administration Manager Marie Bostick said Tuesday. She was unsure if that person is holding out for more money or just has not had time to respond.

Bostick said she is optimistic the city won't have to use its eminent domain powers.

The new four-lane divided boulevard will begin on the north side of Governors Drive at the Harvard Road traffic signal. It will cross St. Clair Avenue and skirt the western edge of the new Twickenham Square development before meeting up with Lowe Avenue near Big Spring International Park.

Bostick said the project includes a new bridge over Fagan Creek, heavy landscaping, wide sidewalks, street lights and a "cycle track" lane for bicyclists. Plans also call for extending Davis Circle to the traffic roundabout on Monroe Street near the downtown library.

Huntsville has set aside $7.9 million in its capital budget over the next four years to pay for the work. Some of that money will be borrowed later.

"The design engineering plans are about 90 percent complete, so we're still hoping for an October construction start," said Bostick.

Four buildings will have to be demolished to make way for the Harvard Road extension: Quest Diagnostics, 404 Governors Drive; a vacant medical office at 406 Governors Drive that most recently housed Dr. Melinda Thompson; Pearce Construction's corporate office at 407 St. Clair Ave.; and a vacant office complex at 409 St. Clair Avenue that most recently housed MTM Services and Custom Dental Arts.

According to the Madison County Tax Assessor's office, the parcel containing the two vacant office buildings has an appraised value of $952,300. The owner is listed as Governors Drive Clinic Inc., in care of Ira D. Thompson.

Quest Diagnostics is part of a large parcel owned by Jim Hudson Jr. that also includes the Southerland Station toy store. The entire tract has an appraised value of $1,438,500. Hudson also owns the Pearce Construction tract, which the county appraised at $327,000.

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