“Once [the bridges] are completed, we will be finished with our ATRIP projects,” Lauderdale County engineer Eric Hill told the news agency. “When you look at the overall picture, it is really amazing what we have been able to accomplish through ATRIP.”
The county was responsible for a 20-percent match for the projects, which totalled more than $3 million, as well as the cost for design and engineering.
“Where else can you get that kind of return on money invested?” Commissioner Fay Parker told the news agency during a recent work session. “ATRIP has been a blessing for us. Without ATRIP, there’s no way we could have done anywhere close to replacing the bridges we have.”
So far, ATRIP funding has enabled the county to resurface four roadways and replace five five bridges. Some of the structures were old and had weight limits so low that neither school buses nor emergency vehicles could cross them.
“We have 189 bridges in our county,” Hill told the news agency. “Using ATRIP, we are going to be replacing more than 7 percent of our bridges. Really, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. No way the county could have done this kind of work, in this time span without using the ATRIP money.”
