Calera has opened a police substation in North Calera, where two officers now work full-time from a repurposed space inside Calera Fire Station #2. The station is at 360 G Roy Parkway, according to location data from Waze.
The substation changes where officers are based in a city whose northern area has been growing. Calera Police Department headquarters is closer to downtown and three exits away on I-65 from North Calera, according to WBRC. Police Chief David Hyche said the department needed officers stationed in North Calera because of growth there, the station reported. Hyche took over the department in May 2020 after more than three decades with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, where he previously led Alabama state operations, according to the Shelby County Reporter.
A City Outgrowing Its Old Footprint
Calera's population reached an estimated 19,471 residents in 2026, up 17.1% from the 16,627 counted in the 2020 Census, according to World Population Review. North Calera is among the city's fastest-growing areas, with new neighborhoods developing along the I-65 corridor, WBRC reported.
The interstate corridor has also faced disruption. On August 25, a flatbed truck carrying heavy equipment struck the County Road 87 bridge at Exit 234, closing southbound I-65 for seven hours and triggering multi-vehicle crashes, according to the ALDOT News Hub. Fallen concrete and damaged rebar led to emergency engineering evaluations and weeks of lane restrictions, the agency reported. WBRC also noted the incident caused hours of traffic delays.
Construction Headaches Are Far From Over
The damaged overpass is within an eight-mile, $143 million ALDOT highway expansion running between Exit 231 and Exit 234 near the Shelby County Airport, as detailed by Bham Now.
What ALDOT Proposes for I-65
Separate from the bridge strike, ALDOT project materials describe proposed improvements to the I-65 corridor between Calera and Alabaster that would create a six-lane facility, with three lanes in each direction, according to ALDOT.
Calera resident Candice Rounsavall told WBRC that development has changed the feel of North Calera.
Quicker Help, a Direct Line to Dispatch
The two officers work from a remodeled area that had previously gone unused, WBRC reported. An outdoor call button connects directly to police dispatch, where residents can be told when an officer is on the way.
The substation is near Calera Middle School. The school already has two school resource officers assigned to its campus, and the new substation's coverage is meant to supplement, not replace, that presence — the two efforts are reported separately. Calera police also run the CASE Program, short for Calera Accountability and Success through Education, which provides drug prevention, intervention, and mentorship in local schools alongside the SRO presence.
Parents Say Proximity Matters
For parents like Rounsavall, whose daughter is an eighth grader at Calera Middle School, officers nearby offer reassurance. Rounsavall told WBRC that knowing police could get there quickly in an emergency made her “a little more confident” about sending her daughter into the school every day.
The Calera City Council met in October.
