TARRANT, Ala. (WIAT) — CBS 42 is Your Voice Your Station.
After being was paused for months, construction resumed at the end of September on the storm shelter being built in Tarrant. The work is happening in the rec center parking lot.
We first reported three years ago on one man’s mission to get a shelter in the city after he was worried there wasn’t one. Randy Weaver first contacted us in 2021 following the Fultondale tornado.
A contractor started building the shelter earlier this year, but then construction stopped when crews digging a hole for it found a swimming pool.
“I hope they don’t come across anything else that was hidden,” Weaver said. “Another swimming pool that was hidden. But everybody in Tarrant knew that pool was there. Everybody. And they knew why it was covered up, so I guess this is a good ending to a bad story.”
The Jefferson County Commission had to approve a change order of more money for crews to be able to stabilize the foundation.
The crew on the site Monday told CBS 42 that it’ll be wrapping up the foundation for the shelter this week and expects the physical unit to be delivered in the next two weeks.
“I thought this would drag on another year or two, but maybe they’ll have it open by this fall,” Weaver said. “November’s a good month to see what will happen because that’s usually when we have more storms.”
Tarrant Mayor Wayman Newton said the city will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony when the shelter is officially open for the community to use.
