Mobile County Nearly Doubles Pace of Roadwork

Posted on: Feb 2nd, 2010 | News and Announcements

Mobile County commissioners have bumped up the pace of contract work by almost 100 percent this fiscal year, pushing out road projects at the fastest clip ever in an attempt to spur economic activity. ?Early last year, we told the public that we would try to get multi-millions of dollars in road work out the door to help stimulate the local economy,? said Commission president Mike Dean. ?We?ve done everything to make that happen, knowing that every dollar we spend on infrastructure is another dollar moving through our community to buy goods and services.? In all of fiscal 2009, the commission spent about $20 million on its traditional yearly infrastructure work, which is almost exclusively roadwork. In the first four months of the 2010 fiscal year, the county already has bid out $13 million. That puts the county on pace to almost double output. ?These projects serve us as an immediate economic stimulus by pumping money into the community,? said Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. ?At the same time, it?s a long-term economic tool because it improves our infrastructure.? By speeding up the approval process, the county has significantly whittled away at the extensive list of shovel-ready projects awaiting utility relocation. Last year at this time, it amounted to about $30 million in roadwork. Today, it is down to $23 million. The county has tried to accelerate the process of approving and bidding out infrastructure work since early last year. The county stepped up the pace by working more closely with its project partners and by speeding up the engineering work on the projects. As of today, 21 contracts have been awarded for the fiscal year starting in October. The biggest are the airport connector road with the county?s first roundabout at Grelot and Dawes Roads, and the widening of Cody Road South from Pine Run to Cottage Hill Roads. The airport connector will deliver traffic directly to the entrance of Mobile Regional Airport. The Cody Road project will widen the road from two to three lanes, providing curb and gutter. ?You can?t attract people and industry into a community if you don?t have the necessary infrastructure to move people and goods,? noted Commissioner Stephen Nodine. The current pay-as-you-go program approved by voters has numerous projects worth about $136 million anticipated for construction in the next four years. The pay-as-you-go program allows the county to pursue road building by using the existing tax base, and without tapping citizens for tax increases. A refinancing of $47 million in debt, approved by the commission last week, will provide $1 to $2 million in savings that will be applied to the program.