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UA’s Summer Projects Include $177M Smith Performing Arts Center Cindy Riley
CEG CORRESPONDENT
Bulldozers, backhoes and cranes dot the landscape, as crews in Tuscaloosa tackle roughly 65 active projects at the University of Alabama. The $575 million price tag includes a student wellbeing hub, a high-performance computing and data center and basketball renovations at Coleman Coliseum. “Summer is one of the busiest times of the year for construction,” Campus Development communications manager Jennifer Sumners told Construction Equipment Guide. “The increased project activity allows many improvements to be completed while campus occupancy is lower, reducing impacts on students, faculty, staff and visitors. These efforts include both large-scale capital projects and smaller maintenance and renovation projects.” The Smith Family Center for the Performing Arts is among the ongoing construction efforts at the Capstone. Scheduled for completion in late 2026, the $177 million, 130,088-sq.-ft. facility is designed to enhance theater and dance, as well as opera. The Smith Center connects to the historic Bryce Main Building, resulting in a more than 300,000 sq. ft. combined complex. “The faculty, staff and students who will use the facility are incredibly excited about its opening, and the opportunities it will create,” said Sumners. “Excitement has also been building throughout the community, with many looking forward to attending events and performances in the theaters.” see SMITH page 8
Smith Performing Arts Center photo
Construction activity at the Smith Center is currently focused on several key areas as the project moves into its final stages.
Smith Performing Arts Center photo
The $575 million price tag includes a student well-being hub, a high-performance computing and data center and basketball renovations at Coleman Coliseum.
Smith Performing Arts Center photo
Heavy equipment needed to perform various tasks has included tower cranes, crawlers, excavators and dozers.
Final Phase of $86M Tuscaloosa Corridor Project Under Way
Construction has begun on the third and final phase of the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Jack Warner Parkway Improvements Project, a long-running infrastructure initiative designed to modernize a key Tuscaloosa transportation corridor. Phase III construction started June 1 and focuses on expanding and upgrading the railroad bridge spanning Jack Warner
Parkway to improve traffic flow beneath the active rail line. The work also represents the most complex portion of the three-phase project due to coordination with railroad operations and structural modifications to the trestle, according to tuscaloosa.com. As of June 8, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard is closed from just north of 6th Street to Jack Warner Parkway near Nick’s
Kids Avenue. The Western Riverwalk connector beneath the trestle also is closed, although access remains available from the west end near Oliver Lock and Dam. The final phase is expected to take approximately 2.5 years to complete, according to tuscaloosa.com.
Building On Earlier Phases The overall project has been under way
since late 2020 and is being delivered in three phases by the city of Tuscaloosa with funding from the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission. Phase I began in December 2020 and was completed in 2022. That segment reconstructed portions of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Jack Warner Parkway between Stillman Boulevard and see MLK page 11