Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) on Tuesday announced that more than $45 million in funding is being awarded to cities and counties for various road and bridge projects across the Yellowhammer State.
The funding is made available through the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-II (ATRIP-II), a program created under the Rebuild Alabama Act of 2018.
The bipartisan legislation required ATRIP-II to be an annual program setting aside a minimum of $30 million off the top of ALDOT’s share of new gas tax revenue for projects of local interest on the state highway system.
“In Alabama, across our country and around the globe, we are all still working to get COVID-19 behind us, but here at home, we have not forgotten other priorities. Even as we are overcoming new challenges with the virus, we remain ever committed to making needed improvements to our infrastructure,” Ivey said in a statement.
“I am proud that Rebuild Alabama continues making these investments possible in areas all across our state,” she continued. “Alabama continues to show progress and tangible results for the people of our state.”
There were 27 projects selected for funding — totaling $45.99 million. Of those awarded projects, 20 feature localities putting forward their own funds in addition to the state funding, for a total of approximately $15.7 million in additional monies. Matching funds were not a requirement to be eligible for the program.
The projects were selected by the ATRIP-II Committee, which is comprised of the following members: ALDOT Director John Cooper; State Sens. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), Vivian Davis Figures (D-Mobile) and Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman); Reps. Bill Poole (R-Tuscaloosa), Steve Clouse (R-Ozark) and Debbie Wood (R-Valley); and Choctaw County Commissioner Tony Cherry.
It is anticipated that a number of the projects awarded Tuesday will be under contract during the 2021 fiscal year, however all projects are required to move forward within two years. View the 27 projects here.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn