By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA–The cities of Helena and Alabaster will soon be seeing some improvements to their county roads in the coming months through the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program.

During the highway review portion of the Shelby County Commission Meeting on Monday, Aug. 10, County Engineer Randy Cole discussed some of the current paving projects, as well as the plans for Helena and Alabaster in the coming months.

“All this dry, hot weather is good for paving and we have been a paving machine here recently,” said Cole. “When we get through with our annual resurfacing, we’ll move into some ATRIP resurfacing including County Road 91 and County Road 17 into the Alabaster and Helena areas.”

The purpose of the ATRIP program is to rehabilitate and improve transportation infrastructure through the accelerated delivery of project funding. The program’s focus is on essential needs relating to roads and bridges, according to the ALDOT website.

Helena Mayor Mark Hall confirmed that a resolution was passed accepting the ALDOT agreement for the Shelby County 17 paving within the city limits.

“I am very pleased about the repaving of County Road 17, which is a major thoroughfare in Helena and provides access to our largest business district,” said Hall.

When asked about a possible timeline and details of the projects, Cole responded, “Its just resurfacing projects that would start in the next couple of months.”

Another step was also approved for the Thompson Road and bridge replacement project in Alabaster at the Aug. 10 Commission Meeting.