Emergency officials plan for BamaJam

By Archive

Published: May 16, 2008

BamaJam will be a safe event, says Coffee County Sheriff Dave Sutton.

The sheriff and dozens of other regional emergency services personnel and event representatives met Thursday to iron out safety, security and traffic details in preparation for the three-day country music festival, sheduled to kick off June 5.

The event, which is expected to draw crowds from throughout the Southeast United States will be on land along Hwy. 167 North, between Hwy. 51 and County Road 156.

Among the dozens of artists featured at the inaugural event will be Hank Williams, Jr., Randy Owen, Lynard Skynard, ZZ Top, Miranda Lambert, Ricky Skaggs, Trace Adkins and Tracy Lawrence.

A portion of Thursday’s meeting focused on how to manage traffic to and from the BamaJam property as it competes with weekend traffic to and from the Gulf Coast via corridors through Troy and Ozark that bring motorists through Enterprise.

State Trooper Lt. Ken Kelley of the Dothan Trooper Post said signs in Troy and Ozark will advise motorists of the expected congestion in Enterprise to “try to help them along another route.” Likewise, he said the same sort of signage will be placed in Enterprise for traffic going north that weekend.

Kelley said traffic leaving the festival grounds will be directed efficiently to keep it moving as smoothly as possible, and he said signage along roadways closest to the site will be posted as “no parking” zones. Any unattended vehicles on the roadsides will be promptly towed at the owner’s expense, he said.

State trooper teams will be in the BamaJam vicinity around the clock, Kelley said, with particular attention placed on traffic direction each day until 2 a.m. He said his officers will be looking for intoxicated drivers entering the roadway.

Sheriff Dave Sutton said local law enforcement officers will do their part on the festival site to keep event participants and motorists safe. He said a “zero tolerance” drugs policy will be in effect.

“We’re going to make this a safe environment,” Sutton said.

The sheriffsaid this is an opportunity for Coffee County to make a good impression on the tourism scene. “I think we’ll make a lot of tourism capabilities come back to our county,” he said.