Mobile County Gets Regional Innovation Award

Posted on: Jan 9th, 2014 | Announcements

The Mobile County Commission won the Norman J. Walton Sr. Regional Award for its creative partnerships that financed major road-building from Mt. Vernon to Semmes in the last year. The award will be presented to the county at the annual meeting of the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, which gives out the award. The Mobile County Commission captured the award in 2012 as well for its county-wide disaster notification system. This year?s award recognizes the county for its strategy to share the benefits of a huge state grant program for road-building called the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, or ATRIP. Mobile County accessed these funds through a competitive process and put them to work in multiple cities as well as the unincorporated county. The results: ? More than $6.2 million was spent for the paving of County Road 96 from the Mississippi line to Highway 43, including portions within Citronelle and Mt. Vernon. For both municipalities, Mobile County covered the 20 percent match plus the costs of preliminary engineering. This corridor is essential for truck traffic to ThyssenKrupp and other commercial and residential growth in the area. ? A $5 million project upgraded State Highway 158 in Saraland. Improvements included a new intersection, signalization and lighting. To accommodate economic development, a frontage road along I-65 was relocated as well. The Mobile County Commission provided $250,000 toward the 20 percent match and preliminary engineering. ? The city of Prichard also benefitted from the grant program. A primary thoroughfare, Wilson Avenue, is getting a needed upgrade. Mobile County agreed to provide $1.1 million to assist the city of Prichard with the 20 percent match and preliminary engineering. The improvements cover 2.6 miles of Wilson Avenue from U.S.Highway 45 to the Chickasaw city limits. ? The largest of the projects was $28 million for bridge construction, repaving and widening of Schillinger Road, from Howells Ferry Road to U.S. Highway 98 into the city of Semmes. ?Working closely with other entities in the region, the Mobile County Commission has seized a unique opportunity to multiply the benefits of this high-dollar grant program - literally and figuratively, spreading the wealth,? said County Commission President Merceria Ludgood. Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson said: ?We are all invested in the quality of our network of roads throughout the region. It makes sense to collaborate on these projects.? Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl noted: ?We are trying to maximize the dollars to get the greatest efficiencies.?