The City of Brundidge has been awarded a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to construct sidewalks on S.A. Graham Boulevard and Galloway Road.

The grant is in the amount of $344,678 with an $86,169 match from the city. The total cost of the project will be $430,847.

Mayor Jimmy Ramage said the city has long realized the need for sidewalks along S.A. Graham Boulevard, which is the Highway 10 artery through downtown Brundidge.

“We’ve been talking about this need for several years and had plans drawn up for the sidewalks on S.A. Graham Boulevard but the cost was prohibitive,” Ramage said.

The city also recognized the need for sidewalks on heavily traveled Galloway Road.

“We continued to hope that one day the state would offer a grant that would include sidewalks,” Ramage said. “When that happened, we seized the opportunity.”

The opportunity came via Federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds.

On Friday, Gov. Robert Bentley notified Ramage of the grant award and offered his congratulations to the city.

“Gov. Bentley said that he was pleased to award the federal funds to this worthwhile project and we are very pleased and appreciative of the funds,” Ramage said. “S.A. Graham Boulevard and Galloway Road are streets where pedestrian traffic is so prevalent.

“There are two apartment complexes on S.A. Graham Boulevard and we have people walking along and in the street into town and to businesses out on the highway. There’s also a lot of pedestrian traffic on Galloway Road with people going to the grocery store, to town and just around the neighborhood.”

Ramage said actual work on the project probably will not begin until the spring or summer of 2014.

“For a project like this, the city will have to acquire property through purchases or donations,” he said. “Where property acquisition is necessary, it will be just a few feet and some of the work will be done on the city’s right of way because it’s under utility lines.”

Ramage said the additional sidewalks will be tremendous assets to the city in providing safe avenues of travel for pedestrians along two busy streets.

“We want to thank Gov. Bentley and the Alabama Department of Transportation director, for making these funds available to us,” he said.

“We also want to thank our local department of transportation that will be involved in the implementation of the project.”

Project funding of $86,169 by the City of Brundidge will be paid it out of cash flow over the period of the project.