Alabama Governor Kay Ivey announced on Wednesday that six road and bridge projects across the state would be receiving $250,000 grants from the state government.
The projects are the last to be funded by the 2020 version of the Annual Grant Program, a $10 million pool of money created as a small part of the Rebuild Alabama Act that raised the gas tax in the state by 10 cents per gallon.
“We are well on our way to rebuilding Alabama’s roads and bridges, and this $1.5 million is a significant step of the process,” Ivey said in a statement on Wednesday.
The rest of the money for 2020’s edition of the program went to projects announced earlier in the year.
A total of 37 road projects received funding from the Annual Grant Program in 2020.
“When I signed the Rebuild Alabama Act into law, I assured the people of Alabama that all areas of our state would see a benefit, and we are delivering on that promise,” Ivey continued on Wednesday.
Six cents of the tax increase have gone into effect so far. The tax will rise by two more cents on October 1, 2020, and two more cents after that on October 1, 2021.
When the full 10-cent tax levied, the state expects the annual revenues from the effort to be around $320 million per year, meaning the Annual Grant Program from which Wednesday’s grants stem only takes up around 3% of the total money generated by the Rebuild Alabama Act.
“Not only will we see these improvements as we drive on our roads, but we will see a ripple effect in areas like public safety and economic development. Investing in Alabama’s infrastructure is truly an investment in Alabama’s future,” Ivey concluded.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
