County Commission | The Magazine October 2018 | Page 16

FROM THE COVER
• Size of road and bridge network
• Major improvements
(i.e., resurfacing or bridge
replacement) since 2000
• Projects planned for the next
five years with current funding
• Budget breakdown for the road
and bridge department
A joint project of ACCA and
ACEA, the survey is headed up
by a pair of county staff leaders:
Josh Harvill, Chambers County
engineer, and Richie Beyer, Elmore
County’s chief engineer and
operations officer.
Roads and bridges have an
expected life cycle, much like the
tires on a car or the roof on a house,
but current funding does not keep
pace with the need.
• Roads should be resurfaced
every 15 years, but current
funding allows resurfacing
every 56 years.
16 | OCTOBER 2018
• Bridges should be replaced
every 50 years, but current
funding supports replacement
every 186 years.
Building on a Foundation
The survey results and
communications tools that will
follow are not the beginning of
the 2019 effort. A foundation of
advocacy has already been set on
this critical issue.
Transportation funding has
received substantial legislative
attention in recent years, influenced
by the DRIVE Alabama advocacy
campaign. Many legislators who
served during the 2014-2018
quadrennium benefitted from
personal tours of county roads in
their districts. And Brasfield has
noted that lessons learned from the
unsuccessful 2017 road funding
proposal will be instructive.
All 140 members of the
Alabama Legislature are up for
election this year, and county
leaders have been asking candidates
their position on new road funding
since qualifying opened.
In keeping with tradition,
Cherry took the opportunity during
his inaugural address to issue a
challenge to county leaders about
the work ahead. “If you are not
fully committed right now, then
I challenge you to get your heart
right. Because it is going to take
every one of us,” he said. “Every
one. And we simply cannot fail.”
The next Regular Session of the
Alabama Legislature begins March
5, but there is no shortage of things
to do right now, Brasfield said.
“We must be successful in the
2019 session, and to a large degree,
our success will hinge on our ability
to speak with one voice,” he said. n