If you drive down East Canal Road in Orange Beach, you may notice something looks a little different. That’s because the Orange Beach Public Works Department recently planted multiple new palm trees in the median west of the roundabout.

This is part of a larger project expected to be complete by March.

New palm trees in Orange Beach median

The new palm trees were planted last week, according to city officials, and that’s not all that’s happening with this project. Once landscaping is complete, the trees will have up-lighting as well.

The next phase of the overall project will include final paving and striping. Within the next two weeks, paving is scheduled to begin on the east end of the project at Wilson Boulevard and work westward. There will be no lane closures during the paving but lanes will be shifted, hence minor delays should be expected.

What’s next for this project

Once the paving project reaches the roundabout, work will be conducted during nighttime hours and the west end of the project between the roundabout and Hwy. 161 is expected to be complete in mid-March, weather permitting.

The overall project has widened roughly 1.4 miles of East Canal Road to three lanes to allow for a middle turn lane. In addition to the road widening and roundabout, a 10-foot multimodal path was constructed on the north side of the road between State Highway 161 and Wilson Boulevard.

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