The city of Foley is set to receive a substantial boost in funding aimed at enhancing the critical intersection of Alabama 59 and Baldwin County 12.

Recently, the Foley City Council unanimously voted to accept an increase in funding from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) designated for improvements at this pivotal junction. The additional funding, totaling $1 million, is allocated from the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program II (ATRIP II) grant program, as confirmed by Jeff Phillips, Foley's construction manager.

“Originally our ATRIP grant was $1 million,” Phillips said. “That was bumped to $2 million. That's the maximum amount you can get through ATRIP just for the $180,000 (local funding) match.”

While Foley officials approved the project, they are awaiting formal approval from the state authorities to proceed. Mayor Ralph Hellmich expressed eagerness to commence work on the project as soon as ALDOT grants permission.

“We are hoping to go to bid on the County Road 12 upgrade intersection on 59 as soon as ALDOT lets us do that. That was approved two years ago,” Hellmich said. “It’s ready to go.”

However, since the project's inception, cost estimates have surged, citing unprecedented inflation in goods and services. Mayor Hellmich emphasized the necessity for supplemental funding from ATRIP due to these escalated costs.

“They (ALDOT) had to approve supplemental money with ATRIP because the prices have gone up,” Hellmich said. “That’s something all our cities are dealing with is the astronomical increase in goods and services. We work really hard to keep our projects under budget with our construction managers and we do a pretty good job, but just the time it takes to design things, the prices go up and it’s affecting all of our cities and counties.”