Last week, the Alabama Department of Transportation announced it was downsizing the Alabama State Highway 69/Skyland Boulevard project in Tuscaloosa due to an apparent lack of funding to complete it as initially proposed.
According to State Sen. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), there could be additional highway project cancellations ahead, tied to funding issues.
Friday, during his weekly appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Elliott warned that Gov. Kay Ivey's decision to forgo any federal matching on the West Alabama Corridor will mean more outcomes similar to that of the Tuscaloosa AL-69 project.
"Well, and I talked to Representative Chris England, who represents that exact district just yesterday in Montgomery about this, and he is furious and understandably so," Elliott said. "Look, these are the things that we're going to see more of across the whole state of Alabama. It is going to be cancellation of projects, drawing back of projects, delaying of much-needed projects because we can't afford them. These are the opportunity costs you and I have been discussing of the financing method used for West Alabama [Corridor]. This is it. These chickens are coming home to roost."
He continued, "When you spend that much state money, close to a billion and a half dollars of state money, without leveraging it against federal money, which would mean that we'd be paying only 20% of the cost or so, or less, then you by definition preclude yourselves from doing other worthy projects. The fact that this one is tied on to the other one just demonstrates how the folly of using this financing method. It's also she can get as much of it done while she can because she doesn't think any other governor will finish the project, which has been the wisdom of the last 50 to 75 years of governors who haven't done this project either."
The Baldwin County lawmaker specifically named the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway, the Northern Beltline near Birmingham and continued widening of I-565 near Huntsville as potential casualties for the Ivey administration's decision to build the West Alabama Corridor without federal matching, in addition to the Alabama State Highway 69 flyover project in Tuscaloosa.
"There is uncertainty. And look, I mean, I don't know how many times ALDOT has announced the construction is starting soon, and it hasn't. We still don't have a firm price on the bridge project," Elliott said. "I expect that bridge to cost more than $5 billion unless they do some significant de-scoping on the project itself. And the state is just, it's hard to see, looking at the numbers, how the state affords that project when they've conducted themselves like they have by borrowing against future tax, gas tax revenues to the tune of $730 million in West Alabama and then continuously spending, you know, recurring gas tax revenues in West Alabama for a total, you know, project cost of somewhere around a billion and a half dollars. You can't do those types of things and do Mobile River and do Northern Beltline and do 565 and do the little bridge over 69 that needs to be done in Tuscaloosa. Those are the hard decisions that have to be made, and Governor Ivey has put all of our eggs, all of the state's eggs, in the West Alabama corridor basket at the cost of all these other projects."
Jeff Poor is the editor-in-chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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