Workers spent much of Friday filling a 20-foot hole in the turn lane on East Three Notch near Piggly Wiggly where a water leak kept City of Andalusia Utilities crews busy most of the week.
Joey Raybon, director of water and sewer operations, said the problem began when a contract installing fiber hit a water line.
“Water lines are usually four to five feet deep,” Raybon said. “This one was seventeen-and-a-half feet deep.”
Raybon said he believes the line was installed before the area was built up for road construction, which would account for the depth.
Raybon said because the line was so deep, L&K Contracting was called in to assist with the repair. City crews began working to repair the service on Monday night, and it was late Thursday before the line was repaired.
“Part of the problem is we didn’t want to turn the water off and interrupt service,” Raybon said. “We were trying to fight water and dig down to the problem simultaneously.”
There was a temporary disruption to service at two businesses on Thursday, he said, adding that City Utilities worked to keep that disruption to a minimum.
Raybon said he and other city employees consulted with ALDOT before beginning to fill the hole. Once the hole is filled, Raybon said, the lane will be reopened, and the fill materials will be given time to settle before the lane is re paved. Mid-day Friday, he said he hoped the hole would be filled by the end of the day.
He expressed his appreciation to employees in his department, the public works department, Andalusia Police Department and L&K Contracting for their help.
The Andalusia City Council on Tuesday approved an amended request for funds from Andalusia City Schools to complete a sidewalk and entrance project at Andalusia High School.
ACS has received a Transportation Alternatives (sidewalk) grant to improve pedestrian traffic on its campus. The school system will provide matching funds of 20 percent for the project, which was approved earlier this month.
However, Dr. Daniel Shakespeare, superintendent of education, amended that request so that the system can also update signage and enhance the front entrance to AHS. The amendment added $481,770 to the total request for the 2025-26 school year.
The funding is from an education sales tax approved in 2013.
The council also:
• Approved a special events retail alcohol application for Off the Trax, for a Crawfish Cookoff planned there on March 28, 2026.
• Took no action upon the first reading of an ordinance to surplus property owned by the City at 220, 222 and 224 South Cotton Street.
Off the Trax will host the first series of the fourth annual Claim the Tail Crawfish Boil Competition on Saturday, March 28.
Off the Trax owner Seth Stewart said he was approached by organizers about being a host earlier this year. The 2026 series will continue at events in Baker and Crestview, he said.
Teams can register through March 23rd. There is a $200 entry fee, which gets a team four event wrist band, as well as crawfish, which is provided by Off the Trax.
“They can start cooking at 8,” Stewart said. “They have to turn in their crawfish to be judged at noon. Then, from noon until 4 p.m., the event will be open to the public as an all you can eat event with $25 admission wristbands.”
Admission is $10 for children.
While judges will just consider crawfish, the crawfish will be served to the public Low Country Boil style, with potatoes and corn, Stewart said. The public also will select the People’s Choice winner.
The event will be held in the parking lot adjacent to Off the Trax, which is located at 234 S. Cotton Street.
The City of Andalusia invites local residents interested in providing input into the City’s plans for the current quadrennium to attend one of two town hall meetings set for Tuesday, March 31.
The meetings will be similar to those held in 2021 in which local residents provided input into updating the City’s Comprehensive Plan. Concordia, the architectural and community planning firm with which the City partnered to update that plan, will facilitate the Town Hall meetings.
The meetings are set for the Adult Activity Center, 401 Walker Avenue (behind the Church Street Cultural Arts Centre/Andalusia Ballet) at noon and 5:30 p.m.
For additional information about the meeting, contact Michele Gerlach at 334.428.1143.
The Andalusia City Council recently recognized members of the Andalusia Youth Wrestling Club for their recent wins in state competition. Shown from left are Jayden Lockhart, who won the 8U – 98-pound Boys State Championship; Ronan Stacks, who won the 8U – 78-pound Boys State Championship; Ace George, who won the 6U – 56-pound Boys State Championship; and Raylan Stacks, who won the 12U – 64-pound Girls State Championship. Congratulations!