The City of Greenville is one step closer to restructuring traffic at the intersection of Hwy. 185 and Interstate Drive.

On Monday, the Greenville City Council agreed to pay Marvin’s $350,000 to relocate its lumberyard, which currently sits directly behind the Exxon station, creating the necessary room to build a new road, Mary Drive East.

Marvin’s will position its lumberyard between its building and Bancorp South.

“We looked at trying to do it without Marvin’s moving its lumberyard and it just wasn’t going to work,” Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon said. “There really just wasn’t enough room to put the road in the way it needs to be. This will give us the space we need to put the road in between Krystal and the bank.”

McLendon said the city will use funds from a $9.2 million bond issue that was approved in September of 2011 and a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Development to pay for moving the lumberyard.

“That’s one of the reasons we went after the grant,” McLendon said. “We knew we’d have to move (the lumberyard) and it just wouldn’t be right to have Marvin’s pay to move it.”

Eddie Anderson, director of the city’s Building and Planning Department, said Marvin’s would have the lumberyard relocated within six weeks.

According to McLendon, once the work on the lumberyard is complete, the city can began seeking bids on the roadwork.

McLendon also said as part of the traffic restructuring, the city plans to move the traffic light that is currently located in front of the Texaco and Exxon stations toward Krystal.

“When this is finished everyone is going to say this is the best thing we ever did,” McLendon said. “It’s going to make traffic at that intersection so much better.”

Gov. Robert Bentley announced in November that Greenville would be awarded the $500,000 CDBG grant to help fund the project, which will also include the widening and straightening of Interstate Drive.

Greenville has pledged $1.1 million for the project, and will pay $50,000 in grant administrative fees.

According to Bentley’s office, the following projects will benefit from the grant:

• BBS Properties and Assigns will construct an 18,000-square-foot shopping center with shops employing at least 25 people.
• Shrinath Hotels will build an 80-unit hotel and full-service restaurant employing about 20 people.
• Wintzell’s Oyster House will construct a restaurant creating 125 full- and part-time jobs.
• Bishop Properties will construct a 140-unit apartment complex employing five people.
• CP Homes will construct a 42-unit assisted living facility employing 20 people.