On April 10th, Governor Robert Bentley signed into law Senate Bill 192 – which will help more counties participate in the largest road and bridge improvement program in Alabama’s history.

The Bill establishes the Rural Assistance Match Program, otherwise known as RAMP.

RAMP will be available to counties unable to meet the 20% local funding match required to take part in the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation & Improvement Program, which was set up by the governor last year (2012) in order to help local areas access funding needed for essential road and bridge improvements.

Since Governor Bentley formally unveiled his ATRIP initiative – more than 400 road and bridge projects have been announced.

To date – 61 of Alabama’s 67 counties have received ATRIP funding for various road and bridge projects.

With the RAMP program, all counties are now eligible to receive ATRIP funding.

The first priority for funding in each RAMP county – is the replacement of county bridges posted for school bus traffic; If all eligible bridge replacement needs are fulfilled each local government would also be able to request funding for other road improvement projects.

ATRIP is expected to distribute up to one billion dollars in federal funds over a three-year period for eligible projects submitted by participating counties and cities throughout Alabama.