GULF SHORES, Ala — Gulf Shores is getting closer to beginning a widening project on County Road 4 west of Alabama 59.

Public Works Director Mark Acreman told the City Council recently that a pact with Baldwin County over rights of way and maintenance is a part of the preliminary process for the work.

Acreman also updated the council on work being done on drainage ditches in an eastern city neighborhood directly south of the Intracoastal Waterway.

“This is a County Road 4 intergovernmental agreement with Baldwin County Commission, simply solidifying the agreement which we would take over County Road 4 east from Robinette Road to Geno Road for maintenance upon the county giving us $95,000 toward the County Road 4 ATRIP matching funds,” Acreman said.

After it’s all said and done, hopefully by the end of 2013, the city will have the road widened to three lanes and will include bike lanes on both sides of road. The estimated $2.5 million project could cost the city around $720,000, or even half that if the county agrees to match the city’s contribution.

ATRIP grants will fund 80 percent of a road project provided the applicant pays for the design and engineering up front.

“There’s $500,000 worth of construction cost match and then there’s $200,000 in professional fees,” Acreman said. “Surveying, right of way, utilities coordination, design fees.

“We are moving forward with the County Road 4 ATRIP project that is scheduled to be bid in February. We are just trying to get the agreement in place so that when it comes time to pay the state we will have that contributing money to go along with that project.”

The project will widen the road to three lanes with bike lanes on both sides as well. It will end just before the Cotton Creek Bridge which the county will continue to maintain.

After the project the city will take over road maintenance.

“When it gets back to Geno Road it turns back into a two-lane just before the bridge,” Acreman said.

In the ditch work, the city is improving the drainage in a neighborhood that had suffered chronic flooding in the past. The city was sued by homeowners in the area and ended up buying houses on East 21st Avenue from the homeowners. They are in the process of selling those houses now and some have already sold or are under contract.

The work included upgrading ditch systems along Fifth Street and the Seventh Street right of way including adding capacity under each road in the ditches that lead to the Intracoastal Waterway.

“The first phase is set to wrap up this year and they have started on the ditch improvements on the Fifth Street outfall for that first block, widening that out,” Acreman said. “Seventh Street is progressing well. All the improvements are in from Highway 180 all the way back to East 22nd.

“Right now they are stabilizing the banks, cleaning the areas up and looking forward to the next part which is connecting those ditch systems together. We’ll start that shortly. We’re working down stream on those.”

The bulk of the work left is an outfall ditch connecting the Fifth and Seventh street systems.

Acreman said the city is also working on several other drainage improvements in other parts of town.

“We’re about to start cleaning the outfall ditch from County Road 6 through the Sportsplex,” he said. “We just recently completed outfall ditches on West 28th, Plash Island Road, Waterway West, all of the above, there’s several water ditches we just completed cleaning. We’re working on the airport ditches as well.”