County Commission | The Magazine December 2018 | Page 12

FROM THE COVER
Outlook is Bleak
for County Roads
Alabama County Road System
Total Roads 60,491 Miles
Paved Roads 44,790 Miles
43%
Remaining
Paved Roads
48%
Repaved
Since 2000
8%
Repaving
5-Year
Projection
Note: Percentages may not total 100 because of rounding.
Sophisticated Auto Manufacturing
Depends on County Roads
Alabama’s auto manufacturers and suppliers are like a
growing string of pearls linking the state.
Each facility is closely tied to others up and down the supply
chain in a system of just-in-time, just-in-sequence delivery.
Road and bridge infrastructure can make or break those
precision logistics, and county roads play an integral role. For
example, a pair of tier-1 Hyundai suppliers in Butler County rely
on Honoraville Road — part of the county system — to bring in
deliveries from a trio of tier-2 suppliers in neighboring Crenshaw
County.
“For Hyundai, every minute that assembly line is shut
down is a $10,000 impact,” said Justice Smyth of the Alabama
Transportation Institute. “It’s a loss in productivity, and Hyundai
is going to pass that penalty down to the tier-1 and tier-2
suppliers, and that eventually hits the consumers.”
12 | DECEMBER 2018
Keeping the Pace
Paved roads
generally have an
expected lifespan
of 15 years.
Since 2000,
Alabama counties
have resurfaced
YEARS
about half their
paved roads,
making the other
half overdue for resurfacing.
To stay on track with a 15-year resurfacing
cycle, a county would need to redo a third of
its roads every five years. With current funding,
projections show only one of Alabama’s 67
counties could get close to that benchmark.