FOLEY - At the July 19 meeting, the Foley council voted to enter into an agreement with ALDOT (Alabama Department of Transportation) to make improvements to the Foley Beach Express. Planned improvements include shoulder widening, super elevation correction and rumble strips.

To help with the costs of the improvements, the city has applied for a HSIP grant. The grant requires a 10 percent match from the city of Foley.

“We really appreciate ALDOT stepping up with this, they kind of guided us towards it,” said Mayor Ralph Hellmich. “This is going to bring our section of the Beach Express in compliance to what’s north and south of us, so we’ll have that four-foot shoulder on the left side, and on the right side you’ll have a bigger shoulder. It will make the Beach Express considerably safer.”

Hellmich said these improvements have been needed for a long time, and that the city will continue to work with ALDOT on further improvements to facilitate traffic and increase the safety along the Beach Express. He said the city will also continue to apply for grants to help with such projects.

“Every dollar that we save on these kinds of grants, we can use it for other projects, including road projects and drainage projects, those kind of things,” said Hellmich.