Governor Kay Ivey (R) (above) recently announced that three major interstate projects in Alabama are set to receive roughly a half a billion dollars in state and local funds.
[Above photo by the Alabama Governor’s Office]
“Improving Alabama’s infrastructure is one of my top priorities as governor,” Gov. Ivey said in a statement. “We are all familiar with the phrase ‘no man left behind.’ Well, ‘Rebuild Alabama’ seeks to ensure we have no road, bridge, or area of our state left behind.”
The Rebuild Alabama Act – signed into law by the governor in 2019 – is a broad plan designed to “comprehensively address” the state’s pressing infrastructure issues with funds provided by a hike in state fuel taxes.
The first of those three highway projects focuses on widening I-65 from Alabaster to Calera, which runs from Exit 238 to Exit 231. This estimated $300 million project includes six bridges over rail tracks and two bridges over County Road 26. The project will be broken into three phases that will eventually be under construction all at once.
The second project, pegged at $120 million, involves the construction of a new interchange to connect I-459 to Highway 150 and South Shades Crest Road in Hoover. The new Hoover Interchange will be located about one mile from the current Exit 10.
The final project will widen I-59 from I-459 to Chalkville Mountain Road, a distance of about four miles. This $80 million project – funded by the Alabama Department of Transportation – will provide additional capacity, reducing vehicle congestion and accommodating future traffic volumes including those generated by the Birmingham Northern Beltline.
“We have been working a long time to make these announcements possible – projects totaling about a half a billion dollars,” the governor said. “These are wise investments to Rebuild Alabama, and I am proud to get dirt churning on these all within the year.”
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