Warrior Land Clearing & Site Work
Ridges, hollows and old coal country, from the US 31 corridor down to the Locust Fork, on both the Jefferson and Blount County sides. Clearing, access roads, pads and the trucks to move the material.
Coal town history, two counties and a river at the bottom
Warrior was a farming community until 1872, when J. T. Pierce started mining and a rail line went in to carry the coal out. The town grew up around Warrior Station and had a thriving brick business on top of the mines. That history is still underfoot. The Warrior coal field is seams of coal between sandstone, conglomerate and shale, and USDA’s Palmerdale soil, the series for coal mine spoil, is shale, broken sandstone and coal with 40 to 90 percent rock fragments. If somebody mined your tract years back, it is not going to dig or pack like the woods next door. Ask around and look at old maps before you plan on it.
The land also drops hard. Elevation at the center of town is 564 feet, it tops 620 north of there, and it falls under 300 along the Locust Fork, which is the city’s southern boundary. The USGS gauge on the river near Warrior drains 712 square miles, so that is a lot of water coming past the low ground. I-65 and US 31 run straight through. Then there is the county line. Warrior is mostly in Jefferson County with outlying parts in Blount, and land with a Warrior address shows up on both sides. Same mailbox town, different permit office.
What grows here
Mature hardwoods on the ridge and hollow tracts around here. Some old mine spoil got planted to pine.
What the ground does
Sandstone, shale and coal seams under the hills, flood plain soils along the streams, and spoil that is mostly rock where it was mined. This ground erodes easily when bare.
Common jobs here
Access roads up a ridge or across a hollow, pads for shops and small business lots along US 31, wooded acreage opened for a house, and fill or spoil moved by the truckload.
Site work this ground calls for
Around Warrior the question is often how to get onto the land and what to do with the dirt, so we lead with roads, pads and trucks.
Roads across ridge and hollow
A stone road that can carry a loaded truck from the county road to the house spot or back corner, shaped so water leaves it instead of running down it.
Wooded tracts with a mining past
Hardwoods and understory cleared where you want room, and the rest left standing. Debris gets mulched on site. Tell us what you know of old mine ground before we start.
Shop and business lot pads near US 31
Cleared, cut, filled and compacted to the engineer’s or builder’s numbers. Zoning for a business lot is a question for the city before work starts.
Fill in, spoil and rock out
Our own dump trucks bring in fill dirt, chert and gravel and take off what a cut leaves behind, so the site does not end up with a pile nobody wanted.
The work
These are Suttles & Sons’ own pictures, not stock. Ridge ground, hollows and rocky cuts like the ground around Warrior are why we want to see your place before pricing it.
Three dump trucks parked side by side.
White and yellow dump truck on a red dirt site.
Red dump truck unloading dirt on a grassy site.
One Warrior address, up to three permit offices
Inside the city limits, start at Warrior City Hall on Main Street North. The city’s website lists fire, police, street services and parks and does not spell out a clearing or grading permit. That is a reason to call, not a reason to skip it.
Out in unincorporated Jefferson County, the county says anyone doing land disturbing work has to apply for a Land Disturbing Permit for Erosion and Sedimentation Control, with a stormwater management plan. The county’s Development Services office also holds the official zoning for that land and handles FEMA flood zones. On the Blount side, a turnout on a county road goes through the Blount County Commission’s driveway access permit.
Entrances on US 31 generally go through ALDOT. ADEM’s construction stormwater permit kicks in at an acre of disturbance, or less when it belongs to a larger plan of that size. We will tell you what we know of when we quote, but only the offices can give you a final answer.
What swings a Warrior price
The same acreage can quote very differently here. It usually comes down to these.
Old spoil or solid ground
Spoil full of shale and broken sandstone works differently from undisturbed soil, and it can change how much base a road or pad needs.
The drop to the bottom
Getting from a ridge down into a hollow takes curves, cuts and more stone than a straight run across a flat.
How far back the work is
A long way in means building the road first, so the machines and trucks can get to the rest of the job.
Fill in and spoil out
If a pad cut does not balance, the difference comes down to loads hauled one way or the other.
North Jefferson and the Blount County side
From Warrior we take jobs in Kimberly, Morris, Trafford and Smoke Rise. Hayden is just up the road in Blount County and has its own page.
Warrior questions we should answer up front
Why can't you quote Warrior land by the acre over the phone?
Because two acres of hollow and two acres of flat are different jobs. Growth, rock, old mine ground and the way in all count. Send photos and a map pin to (256) 735-3214 and you will get a real price for your property.
Where does the cleared material end up?
Trees and brush get ground up and stay on the ground as mulch. No burning. Dirt and rock that have to leave go out in our own dump trucks.
Can you keep the hardwoods on the ridge where we want the house?
Yes. Mark what you want to keep and leave some room around it. We can talk through where the driveway and pad go, so they do not end up crowding the best trees.
Who do I call about permits for land with a Warrior address?
First find out where the land sits. In city limits, Warrior City Hall. In unincorporated Jefferson County, the county's Development Services office. In Blount, the County Commission for a road turnout. An acre or more of disturbance can also mean ADEM. When we quote, we bring up anything we know of.
How do I know if my land is in Jefferson or Blount County?
Your deed or tax bill will say. A Warrior mailing address alone will not, since the area spreads across both counties. Send us a map pin and we can look at it with you, but the county's records have the last word.
Can you work on old strip mine or mine spoil ground?
Often the clearing and road work can be done, but tell us about it up front. If you know of open holes, high walls or ground that has settled, have that checked by someone qualified first. We cannot tell you ground like that is safe to build on.
Can you build near the Locust Fork?
We can build access roads and clear on a lot of low ground, but river land brings flood zone questions. Check the flood map with the city or county before you plan a pad down there.
Are photos enough to get a price?
Usually. Show us the road in, the thickest part and any rock or old cuts, and add a map pin. On tracts with a mining past we may want to walk it before we commit.
Warrior site work under one phone number
Land clearing in Warrior, Alabama from Suttles & Sons goes past cutting trees: access roads, building pads, forestry mulching, culverts, and dump trucks to bring in fill and take out spoil.
We serve both sides of the county line, including Kimberly, Morris and Trafford. Read how access roads, building pads and material hauling get planned.
Estimates are free and every job is priced on its own. Call or text (256) 735-3214.
Price out your Warrior job
Tell us which county the land is in if you know, send a few photos and a map pin, and mention any old mine ground. Kalob will take it from there.
Request an estimate
Photos help most. Text them to (256) 735-3214 after you send this.