By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



Parents with children at Gardendale Elementary and Bragg Middle School are likely concerned about upcoming traffic issues.

The week of Aug. 25, the Jefferson County Road Department will close Ash Avenue that goes between both schools.

Workers will be moving utilities for the widening of Mt. Olive Road. Work on Bauers Lane follows.

Jefferson County Board of Education member Karen Smith Nix said that the board, county engineers, Gardendale officials and principals are working together to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Nix said the school board knew about the widening of Mt. Olive Road, but did not know until last week about the temporary closing of Ash and Bauers.

“We strenuously objected to the closing of Ash Avenue the first week of school,” she said. “We met and compromised with the county. They gave us two weeks to try and get a plan into place.”

As a parent, Nix said she highly recommends that parents pick up their children at Gardendale First Baptist Church after school, where they are escorted by a teacher. She said she had no problems picking up her son, Riley, an eighth-grader at Bragg, from there last year.