County Commission | The Magazine November 2019 | Page 11

NEWS YOU CAN USE
Rebuild Alabama:
Big Impact in 2020
Counties to Improve Safety of 1,013 Road Miles,
20 Bridges with Rebuild Alabama Funds in 2020
I
t would take you about 15 hours
behind the wheel and more than
1,000 miles to drive from Montgomery
to New York City, but that’s how
many miles of road Alabama’s county
governments plan to improve next
year with the proceeds of the new
gasoline and diesel fuel taxes being
paid by motorists.
Looking closely at the 2019-
2020 work plans adopted statewide,
counties are scheduled to improve
1,013 miles of crumbling county
roads and to perform long-overdue
maintenance on 20 failing county
bridges. Based on these figures, the
Rebuild Alabama Act is set to increase
county road and bridge work by nearly
140% and 60%, respectively, in the
next 12 months.
“Clearly, the Rebuild Alabama
Act is making an immediate impact
on Alabama’s transportation system,”
said Sonny Brasfield, Executive
Director of the Association of County
Commissions of Alabama, which has
collected and analyzed the county
plans. “County engineers and elected
officials have been busy laying the
ground work, and now, it’s almost time
for the public to see the evidence in
their local communities.”
Brasfield explained that the
first proceeds of phase one of the
implementation of gasoline and diesel
fuel tax increases will be distributed
to counties in late December. He
predicted the bids for the first
projects will be received in December
and work will begin in most counties
in the spring.
“The replacement of asphalt
is weather-dependent, so we don’t
expect work to begin on the first day
that funds are received, but counties
will be ready as soon as things warm
up next spring,” Brasfield said.
He pointed out that some
construction activity, such as right-
of-way improvement and bridge
construction, may begin before the
resurfacing of county roads.
Brasfield said the Montgomery-to-
New York City improvement schedule
is “not a one-time construction
but should be the new standard in
Alabama county government.”
Calling Rebuild Alabama funding
a “game-changer” for county
infrastructure, Brasfield said he
expects 2020-2021 plans to replicate
this year’s impressive schedule.
Copies of all 67 county plans, as
well as bid announcements later in
the year, can be found on the ACCA’s
website, www.alabamacounties.org.
Established with strict
requirements for transparency with
and accountability of fuel tax dollars,
New York,
New York
Montgomery,
Alabama
COUNTY COMMISSION | 11