County OKs ATRIP bid

Published 2:36 pm Friday, July 25, 2014

Twenty miles of Butler County roads are soon to become a little less bumpy.

On Monday, the Butler County Commission approved a bid from Georgia-based The Miller Paving Group for full-depth reclamation and resurfacing of County Road 45 and County Road 59 from U.S. Hwy. 31 to the Pigeon Creek bridge and from the junction of County Road 45 and County Road 59 to Alabama Hwy. 106.

The Miller Paving Group was the low bidder at $4,875,304.68.

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Blount Construction Company had the second lowest bid at $4,888,057.44.

Wiregrass Construction Company bid $5,284,253.71 and Midsouth Paving bid $5,566,326.40.

According to an invoice issued by the Alabama Department of Transportation, Butler County will be responsible for $1,023,814 of the cost.

The project is being primarily funded with money from the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program.

In February of 2012, Gov. Robert Bentley unveiled ATRIP, which seeks to provide counties and cities with money to resurface and rehabilitate roads with federal funds totaling nearly $1 billion.

Only major collector roads, or roadways which serve 500 vehicles a day, and bridges qualify for the funding, and city and county governments must provide a 20 percent match for approved projects. Funding for ATRIP comes through the use of Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles Bonds (GARVEE). Through the use of GARVEE bonds, Alabama is able to access future federal dollars now in order to pay for road and bridge projects that are needed immediately.

“ATRIP is making a difference in every county across Alabama by allowing much-needed road and bridge improvement projects to move forward,” Gov. Robert Bentley 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.”

During all three phases of the program, more than $10.3 million has been allocated for projects within Butler County.