Road Design Approved For New Schools; Higdon Returning To TCSS

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education on Monday approved the final design for road improvements leading to two new schools in Northport, after initial plans were met with backlash from those in the area who would have been impacted by a proposed access road from Highway 43.

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The design was approved unanimously and will be aimed at alleviating traffic funneling in and out of Northport Elementary School and the soon-to-be opened Northport Intermediate School, which will be in close proximity to Tuscaloosa County High School.

The design approved by the school board on Monday will widen Frankie Thomas Trace, coming from Rose Boulevard, which will remove the need for an added connection behind Northport Elementary School.

"We’re running out of time as far as when school starts again," District 2 School Board Member Jamie Lake told Patch following the decision. "It's a quicker, cheaper option and more community supported to put these additional lanes in and not put the loop around the elementary school. We wanted to listen to the community’s concerns and have buy-in."

One of the initial proposals was met with opposition from residents of Grand Pointe, as Lake and Superintendent Keri Johnson met with those from the subdivision to hear their concerns.

"The inbound and outbound will still be off of Rose Boulevard, but we will still have as many entry and exits points as we can," Lake said. "If we can stagger the start and stop times, it will help with busing and carpools, so we will test that for a school year and reassess."

TCSS provided the finalized changes immediately following Monday's meeting, with work aimed for completion in August prior to the start of the 2021-2022 school year.

• Widens Frankie Thomas Trace to five lanes (four inbound and one outbound) from the Northport Elementary School Loop to the southern end of the TCHS Track & Field.
• Realigns the intersection of Frankie Thomas Trace and the NES Loop to be a traditional four-leg intersection.
• Constructs a right-turn only slip lane from Frankie Thomas Trace southbound to Rose Boulevard westbound.
• Reconfigures the NIS and NES Loop exit driveways to allow staff to enter.

"We ask for patience," Lake reiterated. "It's going to take a whole community group effort for everybody to work through this. Once the road is done, we will put out more information about designated lanes, but it will take a little time to get in a rhythm and routine ... we listened to the concerns of the people and we are hoping everyone will listen to us so this works well."

In other business

The TCSS Board of Education also unanimously approved the hire of Danny Higdon as the system's chief school financial officer — a position he previously held from October 2012 to April 2020, before retiring last spring and entering the private sector. Higdon will return to his former role to fill the vacancy left by Glendora Stephens, who retired in March.

“I’m really excited about coming back and working with everyone at TCSS, and looking forward to getting started,” Higdon said.

The terms of Higdon's contract are still being finalized.

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