Alabama looks to spend $1 billion on roads over 10 years

The Alabama Senate is considering spending as much as $1 billion on highways, bridges and railroads over the next decade.

The Senate rejected the measure in early March by a 19-11 vote, just two votes shy of passage. However, Sen. Lowell Barron (D-Fyffe), who chairs the chamber’s agenda-setting Rules Committee and is sponsoring the proposal, said he would bring it to another vote in the next day or so. If the measure does pass the Senate it will await voter approval.

“The roads and bridges in this state are in desperate need of repair, (and) we have a number of new roads that need to be addressed,” Barron told The Huntsville Times. “In addition to that, this will create jobs. It’s a stimulus for something that’s desperately needed.”

The state legislature would pull $100 million from the Alabama Trust Fund each year for 10 years. As much as $75 million would be delivered to the state DOT, with counties and cities receiving the remaining $25 million.