Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery

Client: Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs
Location: Spanish Fort, Alabama
Role: Civil Engineer

The site consists of approximately 103 acres. The first phase of development encompasses approximately 22.8 acres and consists of an administration building, maintenance building, and a committal shelter. The cemetery is designed to accommodate burials for 10 years before another expansion is needed. The burial options include 2,392 pre-placed crypts, 120 traditional gravesites, 136 in-ground cremains, and 128 columbarium niches for a total of 2,776 graves. The cemetery also features a Memorial Walk that connects to neighboring Saluda Hills Cemetery, where Revolutionary War Soldier Zechariah Godbold is buried.

From a Civil Engineering standpoint, this site had many challenges. The first challenge was the strict design guidelines for Veterans Cemetery's grades at the interment areas.  The maximum allowable slope on the interment areas is three percent. The existing grades averaged ten percent. To complicate the grading even further, there were several wetland fingers and historical areas that had to be avoided.  Working with the Architect and the Cemetery Consultant, we were able to come up with a layout that would allow the Veterans Cemetery Design Guidelines to be satisfied and allowed for a balanced site.

Second, the site had three distinctly different drainage basins. Therefore we had to monitor closely how and where the proposed run-off was directed. All of our stormwater ponds discharged in close proximity to wetlands; therefore we implemented ponds with a bioswale, to help filter pollutants from the smaller rain events.

Finally, with the overall cemetery life to be approximately 100 years, we had to design the existing infrastructure to be expanded upon to accommodate the future burial areas and roadway systems. Therefore a Master Grading and Drainage Plan was created in order to serve as a design aid for the future development of the cemetery.