City Awarded Funds For Infrastructure Improvements
by Mike Hobson
October 1, 2024
Centreville Mayor Mike Oakley announced receipt of a funding notice from Governor Kay Ivey today, that it will receive federal funds in the amount of $783,700 for sidewalk improvements along several main streets within the City.
Centreville will partner with Bibb Medical Center to complete the ambitious project, designed to connect existing walking paths and sidewalks, broaden handicap mobility, and improve pedestrian cross walks along the City’s Birmingham Road entrance corridor. Bibb Medical Center CEO Joseph Marchant announced that BMC will contribute the 20% matching funds that are required to unlock the grant funds. The funds coming from the grant award cover 80% of the expected project cost.
The City and Bibb Medical Center have jointly participated with planning the improvements over an extended period of time and applied for this funding to connect Stewart Wheeler Park with a continuous sidewalk, leading all the way to Walnut Street, near the Bibb County Board of Education location.
The engineering work for this infrastructure design is being handled by McGiffert & Associates of Tuscaloosa with Draper McMillan engineering the design plans. A preliminary design has been presented by the engineers and is now ready to seek contractor bids for the construction phase, with a goal of completion in 2025.
The attached drawing indicates that the sidewalk improvements will branch out from Birmingham Road Westward to the BMC Wellness Center walking track, along Alexander Avenue, Belcher Street, Hospital Drive, Library Street, and a portion of Pierson Avenue. A primary goal of the TAP grant program is to provide “alternative” mobility options for the community citizens. Joseph Marchant explained that this project will address that goal with improved mobility options, sidewalks, and safer cross walks for as many as 200 residents of the BMC retirement community.
Another spur extends a sidewalk from Birmingham Road Eastward along Park Drive, where the high school baseball and softball fields are located. This path connects Birmingham Road with the pedestrian walkway along the Cahaba River and the Cahaba Blueway canoe launch.
Mayor Oakley and CEO Marchant emphasized that this project follows the City’s strategic planning vision and the stated goals of the Main Street Centreville improvement plan. This joint planning has developed over the last couple of years, with a goal of improving community walkability, handicap and senior citizen mobility use. The parties are seeking additional grant funding for added street lighting to boost the safety and security of citizens who use the improvements. These improvements are expected to continue to attract new residents to the BMC retirement community that has been growing in the heart of the city center, boosting the City’s economic development. There are separate plans to add lighting to the BMC Wellness Center walking track as BMC continues to improve its campus facilities while the partners seek additional grant funding for lighting improvements along sidewalks, said CEO Marchant.
The grant funding comes from a Fiscal Year 2025 Transportation Alternatives Set-aside program administered by the Alabama Department of Transportation. The project will coordinate with the ALDOT West Central Region in Tuscaloosa. Additional information is expected to be announced when the construction contract is awarded.
A full scale drawing of the construction plan is available for public viewing at City Hall.
