Alabama Street Reopens to Motorists

Nearly 10 months after it was closed down, Alabama Street was reopened to motorists by noon Wednesday, Aug. 20. Between Redlands and Highland, the closure of Alabama Street for improvements to allow the thoroughfare to survive a 100-year-storm had de-railed the daily routes of some 12,000 motorists who used this road daily before its closure. San Bernardino County Supervisor James Ramos and officials from the cities of Redlands, San Bernardino and Highland celebrated the reopening with media Wednesday morning. Alabama Street has been closed seven times since 2003 due to damage caused by storm flows from City Creek. The most recent and completed improvement project began in November 2013 and consisted of construction of two 48-foot-wide by 169-foot-long arch culverts at City Creek. Other improvements included concreted rock slope protection and the installation of new electric, gas and communication lines. “I know there are others out there anxious to see this open,” Supervisor James Ramos said. “Something had to be done… to make sure that we built a structure here that could withstand a 100-year flood. So San Bernardino County moved forward in those areas. It’s been a long nine-and-a-half months since we’ve closed Alabama, but now we have a road that will withstand the floods that will come this way.” It cost $2.3 million to complete the project, which officials said was done on time and under budget. Mostly all the funds for the project were funded by grants from the Federal Highway Administration and the County Flood Control District, the Inland Valley Development Agency and the cities of Redlands, San Bernardino and Highland.