ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — A transportation enhancement grant given to the city of Orange Beach eight years ago to construct sidewalks along Canal Road was back on the agenda Monday.

The reason? The Alabama Department of Transportation’s $6.5 million plan to widen the road interfered with the sidewalk project.

“We don’t know exactly when the Canal Road widening project is going to happen,” Director of Engineering and Environmental Services Kit Alexander said. “This needs to occur before the sidewalk is constructed because the sidewalk will just be ripped up when they do the widening.”

This uncertainty has caused a hazy situation with the future of the grant and its sidewalks.

Alexander requested an application for extension on the already extended grant at Monday’s work session.

The council supported that extension with a resolution passed in the special called meeting that followed.

The city will have to match funds of 20 percent for the grant, making their cost $195,000 with design.

Money used to fund to match the required 20 percent would come from the 2010 budget.

With the city’s reapplication for the nearly $800,000 project, they will have to ensure that construction will begin by 2010.

A section of the plan has already been built, running sidewalk on Scenic Route 161 and State Highway 180 between Scenic Route 161 and Bear Point.

The uncompleted portion has been designed to run from the Foley Beach Express to Scenic Route 161.

There is also a consideration to extend the sidewalk to the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail.

In an attempt to hurry the process, which would allow ALDOT to begin construction on the sidewalks, the city has already sunk $2.7 million worth of land in the road widening.

Due to funding, the state has been at a standstill.

New construction of businesses has also caused a halt on their sidewalks, which the city requires.

Currently, the city is working on an ordinance to gather funds from businesses to use later for sidewalks once Canal Road has been widened.

“The reason we are in this position is not because of anything we did, but because of the state of Alabama,” Councilwoman Tracy Holiday said. “It’s because of the Alabama Department of Transportation and because they are so far behind.”

Ninth division preconstruction engineer Jackie Glasgow said that the hold up has been a lack of funds, but now the project is moving forward.

“The plans are well on the way,” Glasgow said.

He cited the utility budget as the leading cause for the slowdown.

He said that the need to relocate utilities that were in conflict with the project posed costly work.

“That appears to be the last hurdle we need to resolve before we go to construction,” Glasgow said.

Construction was initially planned to begin next year in January but has been pushed to November 2009.

Glasgow said that the project could take up to two years, which projects that the widening would be finished in 2011.

However, Alexander said that if the widening does not occur by 2010 the city will be forced to request a third extension or possibly lose the grant.