Officials report progress on 14 local road and bridge projects
RAGLAND – ATRIP, the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, is making a $14.5 million impact is St. Clair County, and significant progress has already been made on the 13 road and one bridge projects throughout the area, announced St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon at a news conference today. In addition to the 14 projects already selected for ATRIP, one of three alternate projects will also be selected in the future.
“We want everyone in St. Clair County to understand the profound impact of ATRIP on our area and on your ability to get to school and work. These improvements will immediately benefit our citizens and our economy,” Batemon said, “and I’d like to personally thank Gov. Robert Bentley for this wise investment in our local transportation system.”
The St. Clair County news conference was part of a series of ATRIP Status Report events organized by counties throughout the state.
Gov. Robert Bentley established ATRIP in 2012 to help local government fund necessary road and bridge improvements. The program, funded by bonds that will be paid with future federal dollars, requires local governments to put up minimum matching funding of 20 percent. In St. Clair County the matching funds total $2.9 million with $1.6 million of this match already included in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget. For counties unable to meet the match requirement, a companion program called the Rural Assistance Match Program, or RAMP, was created. RAMP ensured that ATRIP would benefit all 67 counties across the state.
“ATRIP is making a difference in every county across Alabama by allowing much-needed road and bridge improvements projects to move forward,” the governor said. “We’re improving public safety, and we’re also helping attract more jobs. When companies look for places to build and expand and hire more people, they look for places that have good roads and bridges.”
With the projects announced in the October ATRIP Status Reports, an estimated $966 million in ATRIP dollars is being invested in more than 1,000 local transportation infrastructure projects. ATRIP, which is administered by the Alabama Department of Transportation, is expected to generate more than 15,000 jobs.
Summary of ATRIP projects in St. Clair County
St. Clair County is currently overseeing 13 active projects and three potential projects. Municipalities in the county are also overseeing ATRIP projects and they include the resurfacing of Steele Station Road from US-11E to I-59 (Steele); and the potential relocation of Hazelwood Rd. from US-231 to Veteran’s Parkway (Pell City & St. Clair County)
