MONTGOMERY, Ala — With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office again in January, some of the state’s most vocal advocates for expanding Interstate 65 say they believe the project will become a bigger priority for the federal government under a second Trump term.
“We have to see how it all plays out, but the important thing is that it’s on President Trump’s radar,” said George Clark, a former Alabama state lawmaker and founder of the Go Wide I-65 Coalition, a nonprofit organization launched in August to promote the widening of I-65 to six lanes from Mobile to Huntsville. “He knows about it, he knows what the issues are and he says he’s committed to helping.”
Clark told Alabama Daily News that he believed the federal government would play a “critical role” in getting the project off the ground given its enormous scope. He had reason to be hopeful for the project’s prospects, he said, too, given Trump’s pledge last year to approve an expansion of I-65 across the entire state as “one of the first things (he) will do” if elected.
There are 366 miles of I-65 that run through Alabama, though 80 miles are already widened to three or more lanes. An additional nine miles – seven between Alabaster and Calera for $300 million, and two near Saraland for $25 million – are set to be expanded within the next few years, leaving 277 miles of I-65 left to be widened. The Alabama Department of Transportation has yet to produce a cost estimation for widening the remaining roadway, though with the average cost to widen one mile of interstate in urban areas being $10 million, and in rural areas, $6 million, it would likely reach billions of dollars.
However, interstate widening projects are typically financed through a combination of local, state and federal dollars, with the federal share of the cost often between 80% and 90%.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville expressed optimism for the project as well. Speaking with members of the media recently, he said he believed that Trump would follow through on his pledge and advocate for the necessary funding to get the expansion of I-65 underway.
Tuberville also said he believed Trump would prioritize federal funding for Alabama’s Intercoastal Waterway bridge project in Gulf Shores, a $52 million project that had stalled for months due to legal challenges, saying the project “has to get done.”
“I’ve had several conversations with President Trump over the last year and a half, he’s very aware of the situation,” Tuberville said.
“I think President Trump will be able to help us with that in the near future, (and) I’m looking forward to working with Sean Duffy, the Secretary of Transportation, when he gets confirmed. I’ve also talked to him about that, so we’ve got a good start on this, but we’re going to need more money and a sense of urgency… it is going to be a huge economic boom for the South.”
Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, perhaps the most vocal advocate of widening I-65, who told Alabama Daily News that the future for the project has a “bright future” under a second Trump term.
“When you combine President Trump’s deep affection for Alabama with the hard work and lobbying efforts of Coach Tuberville and the rest of our congressional delegation, it adds up to a bright future for the widening of I-65,” Ainsworth told ADN. “It’s time for Alabamians to be able to travel from the Tennessee line to the Gulf of Mexico without having to sit for hours in the world’s longest parking lot.”
Federal dollars Alabama could potentially use to get a statewide expansion of I-65 off the ground include the $2.27 billion the state is set to receive through 2026, money allocated to the state through the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Under the bill, Alabama was allocated $5.8 billion over five years, receiving $1.14 billion annually starting in fiscal year 2022.
However, using said funds would require the state to amend its current State Transportation Improvement Program, or STIP, a four-year infrastructure plan that states are required to develop to be eligible for federal dollars for transportation projects. Alabama’s most recent STIP, which outlines how federal transportation dollars will be spent over a four-year period, was adopted in late 2023, and runs through 2027. While ALDOT has the authority to amend the state’s STIP, doing so would require pulling dollars away from other, already committed-to projects, something that would likely see strong opposition from impacted local and state representatives.
Another factor that could potentially stall a project of this scope are environmental challenges. For instance, expanding the bridge portion of I-65 that runs over the Tennessee River, which harbors dozens of endangered species, would likely require additional environmental assessments to comply with federal regulations. The General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge, the portion of I-65 that runs over the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta in south Alabama, could also pose additional challenges.
Gov. Kay Ivey expressed optimism for both the I-65 expansion and Intercoastal Waterway bridge projects under a second Trump administration, with her communications director telling ADN that she looked “forward to working with President Trump on not only I-65, but on other major projects like the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project,” a proposed six-lane bridge that is planned to connect downtown Mobile to Daphne.
“Without a doubt, Gov. Ivey is the No. 1 champion of improving Alabama’s roads and bridges – and has a record to back that up,” Gina Maiola, Ivey’s communication director, told ADN. “She is also responsible for miles of improvements on I-65 and in projects in all 67 counties.”
Tuberville expressed optimism that a second Trump term would see further federal investment into improving Alabama’s infrastructure beyond expanding I-65, while at the same time, criticized the 2021 infrastructure bill passed during the Joe Biden administration.
“Right now we have 2,000 bridges in the state of Alabama that have been condemned, 2,000 that we’re still driving over; they’re safe to drive but they need repairs,” he said.