More than 40-million dollars in state funding has been approved for road and bridge repair projects in Alabama. Governor Kay Ivey said the grants from the Rebuild Alabama Act will go to support 25 separate construction projects in cities and counties across the state. Twenty of the projects will include local matching funds. Governor Ivey recently released the 2025 New & Expanding Industry Announcement Report.
It includes over 230 projects with a total capital investment of nearly 15-billion dollars.The report also mentions close to 94-hundred new job commitments -- the highest in state history.Locally, Owens Corning is set to open a new shingle manufacturing plant in Prattville. The project is expected to create about 90 jobs.
Rebuild Alabama is funded through an increase in gas and diesel taxes passed by the legislature. The U.S. Department of Transportation's website says those dollars are a supplement to the Biden Infrastructure plan which reportedly will provide funding to repair and rebuild roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
In Alabama there are, according to USDOT, 620 bridges and over 2961 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 8.9% in Alabama, and on average, each driver pays $434 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system.
In a release, USDOT said that based on formula funding alone, Alabama would expect to receive approximately $5.8 billion over five years in Federal highway formula funding for highways and bridges. On an average annual basis, this is about 32.3% more than the State’s Federal-aid highway formula funding under current law.
Alabama can also reportedly compete for the $15.77 billion Bridge Investment Program for economically significant bridges and $15 billion of national funding in the law dedicated to megaprojects that will deliver substantial economic benefits to communities. Alabama can also expect to receive approximately $128 million over five years in formula funding to reduce transportation-related emissions, in addition to about $146 million over five years to increase the resilience of its transportation system. States may also apply federal aid dollars towards climate resilience and safety projects.
