County Commission | The Magazine April 2020 | Page 27

NEWS YOU CAN USE
Status Report: Rebuild Alabama
Counties continue to demonstrate efficiency, transparency
Editor’s Note: In recognition of the Rebuild Alabama Act’s significance, County Commission Magazine will feature
a status report on county progress in every issue.
T
he first months of 2020 were
filled with implementation
milestones for the Rebuild Alabama
Act, including:
Grant Announcement
On January 16, the first $7
million of awards by the Rebuild
Alabama Annual Grant Program
were announced by Gov. Kay Ivey
and the Alabama Department of
Transportation. The program sets
aside $10 million of the state’s share
of new gas tax revenue for local
roads and bridges. It is expected
that all 31 projects will be under
contract by the end of the calendar
year. A second award cycle is
expected later this year for the
remaining $3 million.
Revenue Distribution
Counties received their first
distributions of Rebuild Alabama
revenue in January. Six cents of the
fuel tax increase went into effect
Oct. 1, 2019, and the combined
county share of first quarter receipts
came to $12.4 million. Actual
revenues were in line with estimates
counties had received prior to
enactment. A bipartisan group
of 111 members of the Alabama
Legislature voted for Rebuild
Alabama, and these first payments
sparked further expressions of
gratitude for their leadership.
Communication Enhancement
To improve timeliness of
communication with contractors,
the ACCA launched the “Rebuild
Alabama Counties” mobile app. Users
receive notifications each time a new
Gov. Kay Ivey continues to be Rebuild Alabama’s top
advocate. She tweeted in January, “Our state’s economy
depends on our roads & bridges – by investing in them,
we’re continuing to say, ‘AL is open for business!’ I’m
thrilled to unveil the first of many #RebuildAL signs to
come. They’ll stand as a reminder of our promise to invest
in infrastructure. #alpolitics”
bid announcement becomes available
inside the app, which also features
other resources, including a directory
of county officials and employees.
Conference Participation
Engineers Justin Barfield
(Geneva), Josh Harvill (Chambers)
and Richie Beyer (Elmore)
presented at Auburn University’s
63rd Annual Transportation
Conference in February. Barfield’s
talk focused on balanced mix
designs related to his county’s
Rebuild Alabama projects, while
Harvill and Beyer delivered a
joint presentation about counties’
statewide implementation of
Rebuild Alabama.
ATRIP-II Project Implementation
The Act established the Alabama
Transportation Rehabilitation and
Improvement Program-II (ATRIP-II)
grants to invest in projects of local
interest on the state highway system.
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