Alabama officials moved forward Thursday with the sale of $730 million in bonds to finance the West Alabama Highway project, a long-planned expansion of U.S. Highway 43 and State Route 69 from two lanes to a four-lane divided corridor.
The project will widen roughly 80 miles between Thomasville and Moundville, completing a four-lane corridor to connect Mobile and Tuscaloosa. It includes the construction or improvement of 74 miles of four-lane highway, 23 bridges, multiple bypasses and safety upgrades.
The state plans to finance the project through the bond sale, which is backed by fuel tax revenue under the Rebuild Alabama Act. That 2019 legislation increased Alabama’s gas tax through a phased approach in support of statewide road and bridge projects. Under the act, the tax has increased from 18 cents per gallon to 30 cents per gallon, with additional adjustments tied to a national construction cost index.
The West Alabama Highway project is funded entirely with state dollars, with no federal matching funds. Supporters say the move will spur economic development in rural communities, improve travel safety and strengthen regional connectivity. Critics argue the reliance on state fuel tax revenue for a single project represents an unprecedented use of taxpayer funds and diverts resources from other needs.
The project was first announced by Gov. Kay Ivey in 2021 and has been a priority of her administration. It is divided into multiple segments that will be built in phases. Design and preconstruction work began in late 2023, and on-the-ground construction is underway in several areas, including clearing, utility relocation and grading on portions such as the Dixon Mills and Gallion bypasses.
A central field office for the project has been established in Demopolis to coordinate construction activities across the corridor.
According to project planners, segments of the highway will open as they are completed, but full build-out of the entire 80-mile corridor is expected to take several years. Initial public information materials project construction could continue through the late 2020s, with work phased so that individual bypasses and widenings come online incrementally.
As the bond proceeds become available, state transportation officials say they will continue advancing design and construction while monitoring revenue from fuel taxes to ensure debt obligations can be met.
Photo by Omkar Patyane from Pexels
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