CENTRE | The orange road barrels lining the causeway between Cedar Bluff and Centre signal the start this week of a project to cut trees and underbrush along Alabama Highway 9, which will open up expansive views of Weiss Lake.

Jeff Bedwell of Bedwell Whorton Construction in Rainbow City said the clearing and cleanup is expected to take six to eight weeks. Bedwell said he does not expect a lot of interruption in traffic flow, but one lane may be closed briefly at times.

Bedwell Whorton, which is also owned by Gary Whorton, spent last week setting up signs and barrels and bringing in equipment for the job, a crew of six to eight workers will do most of the clearing and brush removal.

Bedwell also said his crew can leave some of the cedar trees along the roadway. When the Cedar Bluff Town Council proposed clear-cutting the stretch of highway five years ago, many of those opposed said they wanted to save the cedar trees for which the town is named.

Bedwell Whorton’s projects include excavation and water and sewer installation, Bedwell said.

Cherokee County Highway Department Engineer Corey Chambers, who has helped coordinate the causeway operation, said an employee of the county highway department will be on site most of the time. The undertaking also includes the Alabama Department of Transportation, which owns the right-of-way on Highway 9, and Alabama Power Co., which owns Weiss Lake’s easement along the roadway.

County Administrator Tim Burgess said everyone involved in the project is working to keep traffic issues to a minimum.

The causeway cleanup will cost $304,000, but $220,000 of that bill is being paid with a grant and past credits from road construction projects with ALDOT, Burgess said.

(Information provided by Scott Wright, Managing Editor of The Cherokee County Herald/The Post Paper)