After four years of hard work, Governor Kay Ivey signed the Rebuild Alabama Act into law in March. The Rebuild Alabama plan will invest more than $3 billion in roads and bridges across the state of Alabama over the next 10 years. Alabama’s road and bridge system has long been in disrepair due to its lack of funding at the state and local levels.
Because of Governor Kay Ivey’s unwavering support, and the hard work of bill sponsors Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, and Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R – Prattville, and the bipartisan effort led by Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, Senate Majority Leader Greg Reed, R-Jasper, Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, and House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, the Rebuild Alabama Act is now law.
“During the Special Session, the Alabama Legislature recognized that passing the Rebuild Alabama Plan was simply the right thing to do for the future of our state,” said BCA President and CEO Katie Boyd Britt. “Anyone who drives the roads of Alabama – whether on urban Interstates or rural, two-lane highways – knows the state is currently unable to maintain, improve, and construct a transportation system that adequately meets the needs of its citizens and the industries that are located here. But no longer.”
The data that supported the critical need to invest in Alabama’s roads and bridges resulted from extensive research performed by an infrastructure task force coordinated by Senate Pro Tem Marsh, who has been a steadfast advocate for addressing Alabama’s road and bridge problems.
Much of that data had to do with how investing or not investing in our infrastructure would impact jobs and economic growth in the state. Based on projections used by the Federal Highway Administration, Rebuild Alabama’s $320 million investment in transportation infrastructure will support 9,000 jobs in Alabama. Additionally, that same investment in Alabama’s roads and bridges will have an estimated $7.5 billion statewide economic impact over the next 10 years based on a recent report published by the Alabama Transportation Institute.
Rebuild Alabama is a responsible investment in our state, our businesses, and our people and will yield tangible results in the years to come.
The BCA has provided this video to celebrate how the passage of the Rebuild Alabama Act and what it means for the future of Alabama.