TUSCUMBIA — County Engineer John Bedford said the county has applied for Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program grant money to replace the bridge over Little Bear Creek on Frankfort Road.

Bedford said replacing the Frankfort Road bridge is estimated to cost about $1.5 million.

“We have submitted (the application) for review,” Bedford said.

The project will involve the total replacement of the existing 212-foot bridge on the existing alignment, which means drivers will have to deal with a detour through the duration of the construction. Bedford said he hopes construction would take only six to nine months to complete.

The county commission agreed to allow the Road Department borrow $500,000 that would be used to match ATRIP program grant money for several projects.

The ATRIP program will cover 80 percent of a project’s construction costs and the remaining 20 percent is picked up by the entity receiving the grant.