A long-delayed bridge replacement project in southeastern Limestone County will be delayed a little longer, but officials say a solution is in sight.

The two-lane bridge on Old Highway 20 has been closed since the Christmas Day 2015 flood. Rushing water knocked out a footer and left the bridge under water for about a week.

In the more than two years since, the Limestone County Commission has worked to secure about $1.8 million in funding to replace the bridge. Costs skyrocketed after federally protected snails were found in Limestone Creek, which flows under the bridge.

The commission had received a guarantee from former Gov. Robert Bentley that no matching funds would be necessary, but that has since changed. District 3 Commissioner Jason Black said he will now forego about $200,000 in future federal aid funds to ensure the project is completed. He and the county’s engineers recently met with officials with the Alabama Department of Transportation to discuss the project and others that may impact the area in the future.

Black and assistant county engineer Marc Massey explained the overall cost of the project would be split between the county, ALDOT and city of Huntsville. They explained Huntsville is interested in having the bridge reopened because it will help traffic flow in and out of an area on the brink of an industrial explosion, most of which has been annexed by Huntsville.

“I’m glad to see the partnership that happened here will move forward,” Black said, giving special thanks to ALDOT Director John Cooper. “I had to give up some of my federal aid to get this done, but it’s going to get done.”

Prior to the road being closed, Old Highway 20 was a popular shortcut for drivers wishing to avoid after-work logjams on Interstate 565. Black wanted drivers to know the bridge would not reopen until 2019, though work should begin on the project this year.

Massey said the bridge was redesigned to be 40 feet wide, but the new plan will take it down to 32 feet in width. He explained the bridge would be open to “all legal loads,” which should accommodate large trucks and pieces of equipment moving in and out of the future Toyota-Mazda manufacturing facility to be built farther east down the road.

The section of Old Highway 20 where the bridge is out will remain two-lane, but could become part of a more ambitious plan. Black and Massey explained it’s possible a second two-lane road could be constructed to run parallel to the existing road. Both roads could then be extended west to Interstate 65 along what is now known as Fennell Road.

Massey said a traffic study now underway would determine if the project would benefit the area.

Old Highway 20 from the intersection of Greenbrier Road to County Line Road will eventually be five-laned to accommodate additional traffic. The widening is one of numerous infrastructure improvements to be funded out of a tax-increment financing district approved by the city of Huntsville.