House Pro-Tem Chris Pringle (R-Mobile), one of the state's most outspoken critics of the cost of the West Alabama Corridor, says the project further proves that the role of director of the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) should be removed from the governor's cabinet and placed under an independent commission.
Pringle plans to reintroduce legislation to that end in the 2026 legislative session.
"I'm bringing back my bill to take the highway director out of the governor's cabinet and put them under an authority like the Port Authority," Pringle told 1819 News in an interview.
Pringle first proposed the change in 2020 after a series of controversial decisions coming from ALDOT director John Cooper on behalf of Gov. Kay Ivey.
"Cooper told me, and I quote, 'There is no is no long-term plan at ALDOT. I only build the road and bridges she tells me she wants built.'"
Pringle said there's a better way to have long-term planning and budgeting, pointing to the success of the Alabama Port Authority.
"We took the dock director out of the cabinet, created the Port Authority, and directed them to come up with a five-point, 20-30-year plan. Look what has happened. Since the docks have been out, the docks director is no longer a political patronage job. It's now a professional job," Pringle explained, saying this led to Alabama having the second-fastest-growing port in the nation.
Pringle is just one of many lawmakers questioning the cost of the West Alabama highway.
Lieutenant Gov. Will Ainsworth labeled the project as "the biggest abuse of taxpayer funding in Alabama's history."
State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) has weighed in as well, criticizing local officials for using the proposed roadway to distract from consistently slow-to-non-existent growth in local infrastructure and poor economic performance, and saying there is no study showing the road is needed.
"I told Director Cooper this multiple times when this was first coming out of the gate, show me the study that shows that really does lead to economic development. I still haven't received one," said Orr.
Pringle sits on the Contract Review Committee and notes that the state has already paid $175 million for a design-build contract for the roadway. His major concerns are that the funding will run out, and it will be a road to nowhere. He says he's not opposed to the highway but has concerns about the cost of the state pursuing it without matching federal funds or a long-term plan for the state.
"This road is going to turn into another U.S. Highway 80, which was never finished. You go to Uniontown, it's not finished. You go down [U.S. Highway] 331 — there's a 331 coming out of Montgomery going south to Florida. It goes to four lane to two lane, two to four back and forth. They never finished the four-lane highway because there's no long-term plan."
He said that with the state going to the bond market for the $730 million in bonds, ALDOT has committed the state to the costly project. Saying that efforts to change the project could "destroy" the bond rating.
"They've got us over a barrel," Pringle said before pointing out that the interest alone on the project will be an estimated $434 million.
He added, "We weren't expecting the governor on the way out of the door to max out the credit card and leave."
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