Rural Road Safety Stabilization Program

The Livable Infrastructure for Everyone (L.I.F.E.) Rural Road Safety Stabilization Program was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on June 18, 2019. Funded by sales tax revenues, the program assists low income property owners in restoring unsafe, private dirt roads at no-charge. Rural road improvements under this program are intended only to stabilize the dirt road, not to improve it up to County road standards. Improvements may include the following:

Roadside ditch repair
Dirt road grading
Addition of soils for the purpose of dirt road stabilization
Addition of aggregates for the purposes of dirt road stabilization
Installation of sod and sediment controls for the purpose of stabilizing areas associated with road and stormwater repair activities.

The L.I.F.E. Rural Road Stabilization Program is an application-based program, in which any property owner on the proposed dirt road for improvements may apply. Applications for improvements are available here or at Leon County Public Works, 2280 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, Florida, 32308. Upon receipt of an application for improvements, Public Works staff will review the history of the road, consider its traffic patterns, and verify its history. Staff will determine if the requested improvements are warranted, and if so, the extent required to sufficiently stabilize the Rural Road and the boundaries within which stabilization will be performed.

In order to be eligible for the program:

A minimum of 60% of property owners abutting the proposed project area (as determined by Public Works staff) must be considered low-income. Property owners are required to complete a Household Income Certification form as part of the approval process for purposes of income verification.
100% of property owners of the parcels abutting the rural road within the boundaries of the project area must: (1) not object to the improvements and (2) grant permission to enter their parcel, if needed, to accomplish the proposed improvements.
No portion of the project area can be within an area that has previously been repaired through the L.I.F.E. Rural Road Stabilization Program. Due to funding availability, the program will only provide a one-time improvement within a specific project boundary.

County staff will review the completed documentation to determine if all program eligibility requirements are met. If approved, projects will be placed on the implementation list. Projects will be prioritized in the order in which their applications were approved with limited exceptions. Approval and scheduling of all requests for improvements are contingent upon the availability of program funding.

Upon completion of the Rural Road improvements, the requesting property owners will be solely responsible, at their expense, for all future maintenance responsibilities of the Rural Road(s). As such, the County will in no manner assume any responsibility for such future maintenance. Owners are encouraged to inquire about the availability of the County’s Private Road Preventative Maintenance and Repair Program and the 2/3 Program for road improvements as options for future road maintenance needs.