In 2025, the City of Gulf Shores entered into a contract with RAS - Roadway Asset Services, a company specializing in documenting city infrastructure such as asphalt and road conditions, sidewalks, city signage, light poles, and drainage systems. This is a two-phase project spanning two budget years. Phase I, currently underway, involves scanning all of our existing roadway systems. This process is similar to getting an MRI or X-ray for our roads and will generate a comprehensive health report on our roadway network. The report will provide a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score from 1 to 100. Based on this score, RAS will develop a plan to prioritize projects and provide a financial report outlining recommended actions. This report will detail which roads need paving over the next ten years, helping us allocate tax dollars wisely and systematically.
Next year’s phase will include assessing all multi-use paths and concrete sidewalks, as well as evaluating the condition of city regulatory signage, light poles, and drainage infrastructure. This assessment will identify items that need replacement, are missing, or require maintenance. By mid-2026, we should have a comprehensive health report detailing our infrastructure needs over the next 10 years, providing a more effective budget-planning tool and allowing us to accurately determine future budget requirements.