The West Alabama Regional Council (WARC) was recently selected by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to conduct a two-year pilot project that will develop a rural transportation planning program for West Alabama. The counties involved include Bibb, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Pickens and Tuscaloosa.

The WARC will establish the West Alabama Rural Planning Organization (RPO) as the group responsible for carrying out the duties of the transportation planning program. The RPO will consist of three committees that are managed by the WARC. The committees will be composed of locally elected and appointed officials as well as ALDOT representatives.

The purpose of the RPO is to advise the ALDOT on transportation issues in West Alabama. The RPO will provide the rural local governments and their citizens a more formal method of interaction with the ALDOT. It will also increase the frequency of the interaction. The WARC expects the RPO to improve transportation planning in West Alabama, which will lead to the construction of needed transportation projects and increased highway safety.

In order to fulfill its duties, the RPO will meet on a regular basis and prepare several documents. The first set of RPO committee meetings is scheduled for November. The WARC held introductory meetings for the RPO members in October 2004. The meetings were held in six of the seven counties in the region. Under the draft bylaws the RPO committees will meet once every quarter. All of the meetings will be open to the public.

The RPO will produce a transportation plan that will detail the transportation needs of the region. The plan will focus on high cost projects that may be eligible for federal funding. Another document that the RPO will prepare will include low-cost, high-impact safety projects. These safety projects could be funded with local, state, or federal funds.

At the end of the second year of the two-year project, the ALDOT will decide if the program will continue and possibly be expanded to cover all of Alabama. In order for the program to be a success the RPO and the WARC must develop a good product. This includes documents that are well written and useful to the ALDOT and the local governments, committee meetings that are well attended and productive, and active public participation. The WARC will need the assistance of the RPO committee members and the local citizens to be successful.

For more information on the RPO program, contact David Norris at dnorris@adss.state.al.us or Bob Lake of the West Alabama Regional Commission at blake@adss.state.al.us.


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