Homewood told it must commit $1.36 million to ALDOT US‑31 access project; council faces quick funding decision

City Engineer Amy Zeary briefed Homewood’s pre‑council on June 22 about an Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) A‑Trip/access‑management project that requires a city letter of concurrence and the city’s contribution of roughly 20 percent of certain project costs.

"Our portion is going to be $1,356,896.26," Amy Zeary said, describing that figure as the city’s share and characterizing it as approximately 20 percent of the work for which the grant and ALDOT contributions cover the remainder. Zeary said the access‑management component paired with the grant totals about $3.3 million, and ALDOT will separately perform a resurfacing package estimated at about $4 million.

Zeary told council the city already received an ALDOT contractor bid and that staff is under a Wednesday deadline to approve bonds and a budget transfer so the project can proceed. She said the ordinance and resolution on the council agenda will include a budget transfer (about $900,000 from carryover funds) needed to reach the city's required contribution. Staff described safety benefits of the access‑management work, including closing excess access points on Lancaster, reducing vehicle conflict points and adding pedestrian upgrades such as sidewalks and crossings; the corridor was described as part of the high‑injury network.

No final vote was taken at pre‑council; staff said the concurrence resolution and the ordinance to enact the budget transfer will be placed on the council agenda for formal action before the Wednesday deadline. Zeary warned that without timely approval the project could stall and the opportunity to leverage the full ALDOT work could be lost.