A panel of lawmakers again delayed an Alabama Department of Transportation contract related to the construction of a major thoroughfare in west Alabama.
Contract Review Committee member and House President Pro Tem Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, voiced frustration Thursday over how the West Alabama Corridor Project is being funded solely with state dollars and no federal money.
“I’ve said it before, the next governor is going to shut that project down,” Pringle said to Assistant Chief Engineer Clay McBrien at a State House meeting. “It has no matching federal funds on it and it is eating all of our gas tax money up. We’re throwing good money after bad because of your boss (ALDOT Director John Cooper.)”
McBrien was at the contract review meeting to answer questions about an increase to a contract with Birmingham-based law firm Maynard Nexen for legal representation related to the project. The increase would bring the contract to $880,000.
McBrien said the project is underway now, “so we’ll see how it works out.”
Pringle promised it would get shut down.
“We can’t afford to build that highway using nothing but state funds because (Cooper) refuses to get federal matching funds.”
Announced and championed by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2021, the project would serve as a major improvement to west Alabama’s Highway 43, a three-lane highway that experiences regular traffic congestion and vehicle accidents.
“The West Alabama Corridor is a priority project for Gov. Ivey and critical in order to give this part of the state a chance at economic opportunities,” Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola told Alabama Daily News Thursday afternoon. “We will continue pressing forward with construction, all while adding to the 500-plus road and bridge projects across all 67 counties of our state.”
An updated cost estimate on the project wasn’t immediately available Thursday afternoon, but ALDOT officials have previously said $800 million and $1.1 billion.
The funding is sourced wholly from revenue collected under the Rebuild Alabama Act, the 2019 legislation that raised the state’s gas tax by 10 cents per gallon. Funds collected are set aside on an annual basis for road projects.
The act allows for 50% of the state’s projected revenue from the tax increase to be committed to bond debt. Department officials have said Rebuild Alabama was designed to provide additional funds for economic development projects like the corridor.
Thursday’s meeting was not the first time the committee has delayed a contract related to the project.
The Alabama Department of Transportation has previously said the use of federal funds on the west Alabama project would mean less available money for other projects in the state and lead to the cancellation of some planned projects.
The contract review committee can’t kill a contract, but can delay it for up to 45 days. A single member of the panel is allowed to pause any contract they have concerns about or want more information about.
It was Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, who moved to delay the contract.
Pringle later told Alabama Daily News he supports the project and says it’s needed. His issue is only with the funding.