Construction is set to begin next week on a $5.3 million project to widen a busy stretch of Alabama Highway 53 in the Harvest area, adding lanes and improving traffic flow along one of Madison County’s growing corridors.
The Alabama Department of Transportation announced that contractor Rogers Group plans to begin work Monday, June 15, weather permitting.
The project will widen approximately one mile of Highway 53 from Taurus Drive, just north of Jeff Road, to Harvest Road. Once complete, the roadway will expand to five lanes and include improvements designed to accommodate increasing traffic volumes in the rapidly developing area.
According to ALDOT, the section currently carries about 19,000 vehicles per day.
In addition to the widening work, the project includes resurfacing Highway 53 between Jeff Road and Taurus Drive.
Construction will begin with clearing, excavation and grading on the west side of the highway. Crews will then install drainage infrastructure, construct the southbound road base and complete paving through the binder layer before moving to the east side of the roadway and the additional northbound lane.
Once the new lanes are completed, crews will apply the final driving surface and install pavement markings, traffic markers and signage.
ALDOT expects the project to be completed in late 2027.
Motorists should prepare for periodic traffic disruptions throughout construction. While most work is expected to occur along the shoulders, traffic on Highway 53 may occasionally be reduced to a single lane with flaggers directing vehicles through work zones.
The transportation department also warned that side street intersections along Highway 53 may be closed at times, potentially for extended periods, requiring drivers to use alternate routes.
The widening project follows several recent traffic improvements in the area.
In 2025, a partnership between ALDOT and Madison County completed a $4 million Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program II project that installed traffic signals at Harvest Road and Old Railroad Bed Road and added turn lanes at Harvest Road, McKee Road and Old Railroad Bed Road.
Additional improvements are also planned farther north. A separate $1.3 million ATRIP-II project in Limestone County will add turn lanes at Pinedale Road and Pulaski Pike south of Ardmore.
ATRIP-II is funded through the Rebuild Alabama Act of 2019 and provides at least $30 million annually for local transportation infrastructure projects statewide.
Drivers can monitor traffic conditions and construction impacts through ALDOT’s ALGO Traffic system at ALGOtraffic.com or through the ALGO Traffic mobile app.
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