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Executive Director's
Report - Fall Issue 2005
Bridge program huge success for counties
The voters of Alabama, on Nov. 7, 2000, went to the poles and ratified what is now designated as Amendment 666 to the constitution of Alabama. The amendment, among other things, authorized the State of Alabama to issue $350 million in general obligation bonds. Of this amount, $50 million was set aside to be used as match monies required to issue $250 million in federal grant revenue bonds for county road and bridge improvement projects.
The ratification of Amendment 666 established a five-year public works program that was commonly referred to as the GARVEE/Amendment 1 Bridge Program for Alabama Counties. While some bridge or road projects are in their final stages of completion, the program officially ended on December 7, 2005. We felt it appropriate to use this space to report what has been accomplished through this program. The information provided below was prepared by the Alabama Department of Transportation. The information is as of November 4, 2005. Some of the numbers will change as the final bridge (about 80) and road projects are let to contract and as final allocations of bond proceeds are made.
Total Projects Let to Contract and Costs
549 Bridge Projects - $190,770,289.77
24 Resurfacing Projects - $21,393,922.36
Total Costs - $221,164,212.13
Bridge Projects Let to Contract by County
Autauga - 5
Baldwin - 11
Barbour - 15
Bibb - 3
Blount - 5
Bullock - 7
Butler - 11
Calhoun - 9
Chambers - 21
Cherokee - 7
Chilton - 7
Choctaw - 8
Clarke - 5
Clay - 11
Cleburne - 9
Coffee - 2
Colbert - 6
Conecuh - 9
Coosa - 3
Covington - 12
Crenshaw - 6
Cullman - 11
Dale - 7
Dallas - 6
DeKalb - 8
Escambia - 11
Etowah - 6
Fayette - 12
Franklin - 9
Geneva - 7
Greene - 17
Hale - 6
Henry - 6
Houston - 12
Jackson - 4
Jefferson - 8
Lamar - 7
Lauderdale - 10
Lawrence - 12
Lee - 4
Limestone - 13
Lowndes - 4
Macon - 9
Madison - 11
Marengo - 13
Marion - 7
Marshall - 6
Mobile - 5
Monroe - 5
Morgan - 9
Perry - 9
Pickens - 14
Pike - 18
Randolph - 3
Russell - 13
St. Clair - 8
Shelby - 5
Sumter - 13
Talladega - 3
Tallapoosa - 8
Tuscaloosa - 10
Walker - 3
Washington - 10
Wilcox - 4
Winston - 11
Total Projects - 549
This program was aimed primarily at replacing deficient bridge structures. Some counties were able to use bond proceeds on resurfacing projects because most of their bridges were in good condition. The benefits of the program are immeasurable and will be felt for decades to come. When the program was being sold to the Alabama Legislature and Alabama voters, the opportunity to eliminate additional miles that school busses were traveling in order to avoid bridges insufficient to carry their weight was a big selling point. It is estimated that once all the bridge projects are complete, more than 2.2 million detour miles will have been eliminated statewide at an estimated annual fuel savings to school systems of about $1.4 billion. This number, when added to fuel costs savings to be experienced by owners and operators of other heavy vehicles, will be staggering.
This five-year program has been by any measure, a huge success. A lot of people are due credit for making it so. Certainly credit is due to Frank Courson and his staff at the Department of County Transportation at the State Department of Transportation Credit is also due to all the county engineers and their staffs. And of course all the county commission members who supported the program from its conception. Finally, we must thank and give credit to Don Siegelman, who was governor when the program started and supported it wholeheartedly, and members of the Alabama Legislature who voted for the legislation proposing Amendment 666. Good work everyone!
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