CALERA – Gov. Robert Bentley on Wednesday announced more than $372 million in additional funding for cities and counties participating in the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP).

Baldwin County share in the final phase is $12.9 million. The county received more than $34 million in the entire program.

ATRIP is the largest road and bridge improvement program in Alabama’s history.

“ATRIP is making a difference in every county across the state by allowing much-needed road and bridge improvement projects to move forward,” Bentley said. “As we make these improvements, we’re improving public safety, and we’re also helping attract more jobs.

“When companies look for places to build and expand and hire more people, they look for places that have good roads and bridges. Our roads and bridges will be much safer thanks to this program, and our communities will be in a better position to recruit more jobs.”

Before Wednesday’s announcement, 693 road and bridge improvement projects had already been approved under previous phases of ATRIP funding. Wednesday’s Phase III funding announcement will now pave the way for additional projects in all 45 counties receiving Phase III allocations.

Funding for ATRIP projects comes primarily from the use of GARVEE bonds. With GARVEE bonds, Alabama is able to access future federal dollars to pay for road and bridge projects that are needed immediately. The use of GARVEE bonds makes strong financial sense because the low cost of borrowing is generally lower than the rising cost of inflation on construction projects. GARVEE bonds also allow the state to make needed improvements without raising taxes.

GARVEE bonds provide 80 percent of ATRIP project funding. Local governments or local public-private partnerships provide the remaining 20 percent funding match.

ATRIP was established by Gov. Bentley in 2012 to help local areas access funding for necessary road and bridge improvements.

For counties that were unable to meet the 20 percent local funding matches required, a companion program called RAMP was developed earlier this year. RAMP, the Rural Assistance Match Program, ensured that all 67 Alabama counties would benefit from road and bridge improvements under ATRIP. All RAMP funding was announced in May.

Between ATRIP and RAMP, nearly $1 billion is being made available to municipalities for much-needed road and bridge improvements. Wednesday’s Phase III funding announcement represents the culmination of ATRIP funding and will be the final round of allocations. Once local matching funds are factored in, Phase III will be the largest funding allocation of the program.

As part of the program, an ATRIP Advisory Committee reviews eligible projects submitted by cities and counties across the state. The committee, in conjunction with Governor Bentley, makes funding decisions.