Athens paving crews are busy in 2017 with a multitude of paving projects.

City Public Works Director James Rich said the city is currently working with County Commission District 2 to finish resurfacing Nick Davis Road from the roundabout that intersects Nick Davis and Lindsay Lane to the intersection of Nick Davis and Mooresville Road.

After that, comes three other projects listed under the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Project, or ATRIP. Rich said his department is looking at repaving Washington Street from U.S. 72 West to Hoffman Street, paving and widening Fifth Avenue from Jefferson Street to Market Street and replacing the Swan Creek Bridge.

Then there’s the $871,000 worth of paving projects recently approved by the Athens City Council. These projects include the following streets:

• Cowford Road — $180,000

• Cambridge Estates (Dee Drive, Shwan Place and Christian Drive) — $90,000

• Athens-Limestone Drive and frontage road — $150,000

• Crutcher Circle, Crutcher Street and Hayden Street — $120,000

• Coffman Drive — $35,000

• Coffman Circle — $20,000

• Clearview Street and Lily Circle — $ 60,000 (sewer repair)

• Sunset Street — $11,000

• Shady Lane — $25,000

• Grove Lane — $30,000

• West Brookwood — $15,000

• Freeman Avenue — $35,000

• Bolyn Street — $100,000

Rich did not provide a timeline for the non-ATRIP paving projects. These projects will be completed through an annual contract the city holds with Reed Contracting, whose crews will do the paving.

Rich said the city owns a small paving machine, which his department uses to patch potholes. His office also conducts bridge inspections and other maintenance work.

Funding

Athens pays for its street repairs different than the county. City Clerk Annette Barnes Threet said the money comes from the Capital Infrastructure Fund, which is supplemented through a 1-cent sales tax passed by the City Council in 2012.

“Prior to the adoption of the additional one-cent sales tax in October 2012 (which became effective Jan. 1, 2013), the city’s total paving budget came from gas tax revenues, which is approximately $240,000 annually,” Threet explained. “Without the revenue from the additional one penny to fund the 20 percent match required by ATRIP, the council would not have been able to utilize these grant funds.”

Revenue from the additional 1-cent sales tax comes in at roughly $1.2 million. This money is split 50-50: half for the ATRIP matches and the other half for general road repair projects, Threet said.