HUGULEY — The widening of Phillips Road near Huguley Elementary School will be a major project for the Chambers County Highway Department in the coming year. The Chambers County Commission has had this as a priority item for several years now and this past year made the commitment to go ahead with it.

The widening is being done for the purpose of having turn lanes at the traffic light to help lighten the traffic flow.

Widening the road is not a simple project. The first phase is currently underway, and it will take some time. There are water and natural gas lines on both sides of the road that need to be moved approximately seven feet away from the road. They cannot be underneath the new road surface that will be going in on both sides.

“It’s a challenge for us to work through,” said Chambers County Engineer Josh Harvill. “The right of way acquisitions have slowed us down some, but we feel like we are in agreement now.”

Once the utilities have been moved, the construction phase of the project can begin and should take a full year.

“I’m hoping we can be completed by the end of 2019,” Harvill said.

There’s an Alagasco line on the east side of Phillips Road that has been moved. Huguley Water has a water line and Lanett a gas line on the west side of the road. These lines will have to be moved seven feet back from where they are.

“This project is a huge investment on our part,” said Harvill. “The Commission has saved federal dollars for it for the past five years. We hope we don’t have any more stumbling blocks. It’s taken longer than I would have liked, but I think we can have it done sometime next year.”