Shelby lands $27M in federal transportation grants for Alabama infrastructure

Showing no signs of taking his foot off the pedal in landing federal dollars for his home state, U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Tuscaloosa) announced the awarding of $27 million in U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grants for Alabama infrastructure on Tuesday.

The three Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants hold a combined total of $27,179,948.

Allocation of the infrastructure grants as follows:

City of Huntsville: $20 million
City of Cordova: $5.179 million
Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments: $2 million

In announcing the grant awards, Shelby asserted that the infrastructure improvements would serve to enhance the quality of life in each community impacted by the investments.

“I am proud to announce that Alabama is receiving more than $27 million for local infrastructure improvement projects through DOT’s RAISE Grant Program. All three of these investments will support improved quality of life, safety, and experience in each of their respective communities,” said Shelby in a release. “I am particularly pleased that Huntsville has been awarded the funds to construct multiple pedestrian bridges that will soon provide greater access to businesses and vital services located downtown. This multimodal project has been in the works for quite some time, and I look forward to the finished product.”

The City of Huntsville’s RAISE grant will provide $20 million to design and construct multimodal improvements on approximately 1.2 miles of the Pedestrian Access and Redevelopment Corridor (PARC), according to Shelby’s Senate office.

The project will link downtown Huntsville to neighborhoods that are isolated by U.S. Route 231/431, Governors Drive and Pinhook Creek.

“The scope of the project consists of approximately 6,000 feet of multimodal improvements, a cable-suspended pedestrian bridge, three bowstring truss pedestrian bridges, replacement of a railroad bridge, and flood mitigation measures,” the release stated.

In a statement lauding the grant award, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle praised the work of Shelby, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Gov. Kay Ivey in supporting the effort.

“This is one of those quality-of-life projects that will have enormous benefits for anyone who lives, works and plays downtown,” said the mayor. “We are grateful for our local, state and federal partners who helped secure this last piece of the puzzle. “I especially thank Sen. Richard Shelby and his team for their assistance in procuring the grant, as well as Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Gov. Kay Ivey, who went above and beyond in expressing their support for the project.”

The RAISE grant awarded to the City of Cordova will provide funding in the amount of $5,179,948 for repairs and improvements on more than 30 miles of deteriorating roadways throughout the city.

For the $2 million provided to the Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments, the grant funds will be utilized for the Shoals Area Railroad Overpass in Colbert County.

“The project will produce a comprehensive corridor study and design plan for the roadway approaches and bridge structure over the Norfolk Southern Railroad near Montgomery Avenue in Sheffield,” the release advised. “The scope of the study encompasses the National Environmental Policy Act, environmental permitting, roadway design, approaches and the overall bridge design.”

Dylan Smith is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL