Residents and visitors will see improvements to Highway 59 thanks to a $2 million grant. The 2021 Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-II’s (ATRIP-II) awarded project list was released Jan. 12 by Gov. Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Through ATRIP-II, Gulf Shores will be awarded $2,000,000 in grant funding to improve Highway 59 by adding a third southbound lane starting from Coastal Gateway Boulevard (formerly County Road 8) and ending at Cotton Creek Drive. This project will tie into the previously awarded BUILD Grant project, which will extend the third southbound lane from Cotton Creek Drive south of the Intracoastal Waterway over the W.C. Holmes Bridge.

The ATRIP-II grant funding requires a local funding match. The City of Gulf Shores portion will be $273,258.54.

More than $45 million in funding is being awarded to cities and counties across the state for various road and bridge projects. The funding is made available through the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-II (ATRIP-II), a program created under the Rebuild Alabama Act. The Rebuild Alabama Act requires ATRIP-II to be an annual program setting aside a minimum of $30 million off the top of ALDOT’s share of new gas tax revenue for projects of local interest on the state highway system.

“In Alabama, across our country and around the globe, we are all still working to get COVID-19 behind us, but here at home, we have not forgotten other priorities. Even as we are overcoming new challenges with the virus, we remain ever committed to making needed improvements to our infrastructure,” Ivey said. “I am proud that Rebuild Alabama continues making these investments possible in areas all across our state. Alabama continues to show progress and tangible results for the people of our state.”

There were 27 projects selected for funding for a total of $45.99 million. Of those awarded projects, 20 were from cities and counties putting forward local funds, for a total of approximately $15.7 million. However, matching funds were not a requirement to be eligible.

The projects were selected by the ATRIP-II Committee created by the Rebuild Alabama Act. It is anticipated that several projects will be under contract during the 2021 fiscal year, however all projects are required to move forward within two years of the awarding of funds.

For more information about the ATRIP-II Program, visit https://www.dot.state.al.us/atrip2/.