More than 20 streets in Sulligent get a facelift after receiving grant
SULLIGENT, AL. (WCBI) – More than $7.6 million in state funding was awarded to cities and counties in Alabama, according to Governor Kay Ivey’s office.
After receiving a grant through the Rebuild Alabama Act, the city gave more than 20 streets a facelift.
“We got the maximum on the grant, which was $350,000, and we put another half a million with that,” said Mayor Scott Boman. “So the total project cost was $800,000. Anytime you can improve your infrastructure in your city, I think it goes a long way with economic development because any time anybody looks at your city, they’ll look at things like that, not just your streets, but your sewer systems, water systems, school systems. So a lot of things play into that. But yes, the quality of streets will be a huge factor.”
The original plan was to pave 17 streets, and they ended up being able to pave 27.
Mayor Scott Boman says this was a much-needed improvement, as many of the streets haven’t been re-paved in 20 to 30 years, while others had never been re-paved.
“The roads were getting in disrepair, and we had had a lot of complaints from citizens just about potholes and things like that,” Boman said. “That brings on maintenance issues as well, which actually costs us more money because we have to try to maintain those areas. So it’s just an easier solution to repave the streets to make them better and safer.”
Boman says cities like Sulligent rely heavily on grant funding.
“There are grants for lots of different projects that you can get,” Boman said. “Some of them are federal, some of them are state, and you just have to apply at the times when the grant applications open. I think the key to it is just having relationships with the people in Montgomery and Washington who can help you. So we have to constantly stay in front of them just talking about our issues, and hopefully we get some traction with them and get funding.”
Boman says he hopes this will be beneficial to the residents of Sulligent, as well as visitors.
“As far as people coming through Sulligent, we obviously are always looking for people to locate here,” Boman said. “So if they see that our community is being maintained and everything kept up, maybe they want to locate here and live with us.”
Mayor Boman says other projects are in the works as well, including a $3 million sewer expansion project on the west side of the city to expand the system to around 100 new households.
