Bridges: Plans still in works to finish work
Published 10:15 am Thursday, January 14, 2021
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Escambia County Engineer Bill Bridges said residents along Kirkland Road and Smithfield Road shouldn’t give up hope on resurfacing of their roads.
Through Rebuild Alabama, the county has funds allocated to complete several projects including the resurfacing of those two roads.
“We were hoping to complete these projects in the fall,” Bridges told Escambia County Commissioners on Monday. “But, with Hurricane Sally and Hurricane Zeta having an impact in the area, that put us behind in the projects.”
Bridges said that plans are still in the works to finish the work once the weather improves.
“We plan on getting Kirkland Road finished as soon as the weather allows us to work,” Bridges said. “The work on Smithfield Road will be completed this spring.”
The Kirkland Road project consists of resurfacing just over 3.5 miles spanning from Sybil Lane to U.S. 31, as well as completing traffic striping along that portion of improved roadway. The estimated cost of the project is $340,000.
The Smithfield Road (located north of Atmore) project will involve resurfacing 4.2 miles of roadway from County Road 30 to Alabama 21 (near McCullough) and will including traffic striping as well. The estimated cost of the project is $500,000.
Other projects that were included in the approved work for the county included resurfacing and striping of portions of Old Atmore Road, Tulip Street, Beaver Creek Road and Wing Road. The total cost estimate for all projects in the plan was just over $1.9 million and covered just under 19 miles of county roadways.
The Rebuild Alabama project was announced last year by Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Transportation. The June announcement indicated $1.7 million in funding was awarded to cities and counties for various local road and bridge projects.
“Alabamians across the state are continually seeing the progress made on our roads and bridges,” Ivey said. “these projects now nearing a total of $9 million are going to go a long way in improving our state and the daily lives of every Alabamian. Having a modern and safe infrastructure system will help Alabama continue to advance, and I remain committed to ensuring that this is a reality for us.”