By Nick Sellers | Staff Writer

MADISON – Madison city and County officials gathered to formally announce another interchange into the city from Interstate-565 on Aug. 28, as Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong gave the news that state and federal entities gave the stamp of approval to the future intersection between Zierdt Road and the interstate.

“This clears the final hurdle and we have a clear path to begin construction of this project that is so important for our region, our County and Redstone Arsenal,” Strong said.

That project is called Town Madison, which is a 700-acre space south of Madison Boulevard that will be home to one of the larger retail centers in North Alabama.

“The approval of this Interchange and the economic activity that it will bring is a game changer for Madison County,” Madison County Commissioner Steve Haraway said in a statement.

“We’re excited about it,” Haraway said. “It’s a big hurdle to overcome.”

The project is set to begin early next year and is scheduled to open in June 2017. Haraway said the interchange will be primarily funded through private funds coming from the Town Madison Cooperative District.

Also on hand for the announcement was Madison Mayor Troy Trulock and Madison City Council president Tommy Overcash.

“Any time we can team with other governments to build new roads, bring new jobs and provide new amenities for our City it is a win win.”

Overcash, member of the Town Madison Cooperative District along with Louis Breland, who is handling the development along the border of Zierdt Road, and Haraway, echoed Haraway in stating that businesses will soon announce intentions to bed down at Town Madison.

“We can now move forward with the development of a major regional retail, living and dining destination at the Town Madison site.”

Town Madison is expected to house more than 800,000 square feet of various retail establishments and create 1,600 new jobs in addition to giving Madison a needed tax base.