Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey criticized recent pledges by Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and a few other GOP lawmakers to add more lanes to Interstate 65 through Alabama as something aimed at making “easy headlines,” while saying she operates “in the bounds of reality” when it comes to road construction planning.

The governor defended the Rebuild Alabama program, created in 2019 through a gradual 10-cent-per-gallon increase in the state’s fuel tax. The approximately $350 million in new revenues generated each year through the program goes toward a statewide road improvement program, improvements at the State Docks, and to add electric vehicle charging stations.

The law also established a grant program that sets aside $10 million each year for local road and bridge projects. That program has funded road projects in all 67 Alabama counties. The governor’s office last announced 21 projects receiving grant money in March that includes road widenings, resurfacings, and bridge improvements.

And widening I-65, Ivey said, has received funding through Rebuild Alabama and the state is planning for a $200 million widening of the interstate for more than 7 miles between Calera and Alabaster.

“Who doesn’t want to widen 65?” Ivey said in a statement to AL.com. “The truth is, there are transportation infrastructure needs all over this state. Yes, we are addressing them quicker than ever, primarily because I championed the Rebuild Alabama Act, which by the way, has already led to needed 65 and other instate improvements. So, yes, I agree that we should widen 65, but I operate in the bounds of reality, and I recognize needs in all parts of the state, including the county roads and city streets that Alabama citizens use everyday to get to work, to school and to the grocery store.”

A spokeswoman for Ainsworth said the lieutenant governor stands by a statement he sent to AL.com in which he said that Alabama “for too long” has been served by “knee-jerk individuals who quickly list reasons why some major initiatives cannot be done.” He said that he prefers to “seek the counsel of those who are willing to innovate, rise to the challenge and think of ways to make it happen.”

Ainsworth’s full statement:

“As a main artery in the state, I-65 is traveled by tourists, truckers, business people, and everyday Alabamians who simply need to get from Point A to Point B in a timely, hassle-free manner in order to lead their lives. When any of those individuals are at a standstill or crawling at a snail’s pace on I-65 for hours on end, it hurts our tourism, our economy, our industrial recruitment, and ALDOT’s reputation among the taxpayers that each elected official in Alabama swore an oath to serve. Every single person who is reading this statement has experienced the frustration of sitting immobile on I-65 as if it were the world’s longest parking lot. Widening I-65 in order to relieve the congestion and serve taxpayers in the manner that they expect and deserve must be a top priority. For too long, Alabama has been served by knee-jerk individuals who quickly list reasons why some major initiative cannot be done, but I prefer to seek the counsel of those who are willing to innovate, rise to the challenge, and think of ways to make it happen. Alleviating the traffic problems on I-65 is a long-term project that must be approached much like eating an elephant – one bite at a time – but if Alabama’s leaders have the courage to start the project and the tenacity to see it through to the end, we can make an already great state even better.”

Ainsworth’s comments in support of I-65 comes after Alabama State Senators recently approved a resolution that urging the Alabama Department of Transportation to study and prioritize improvements and additional capacity for I-65, with the “eventual goal of having an appropriate number of lanes in each direction on all sections of the interstate.”

I-65 is approximately 366 miles from the Tennessee-Alabama state line to Mobile.

Ainsworth, a 2026 governor’s hopeful, hasn’t shied from criticizing Ivey’s administration in the past, and the sitting governor has swatted back at times. The two Republicans were elected separately — 18 states elect lieutenant governors separate from the governor — while 25 states elect them jointly similar to a president and vice-president.

Ivey is term-limited and cannot run for another term, and the governor’s race is expected to be a wide-open contest in three years.

Notably, the two butted heads in 2020 over Ivey’s pandemic response. Ainsworth wrote a blistering letter to Ivey’s COVID task force during the onset of the pandemic, saying they were not taking a “realistic approach” to a surge of hospital patients. Ivey shot back and accused the lieutenant governor of being critical without offering solutions.

The rift, during the harrowing early days of the pandemic, prompted some political observers to note the rarity of having the state’s two top constitutional officers within the same political party at odds since the GOP took over the Statehouse majorities in 2010.

Ainsworth has been critical of ALDOT’s handling of road projects. In March, the lieutenant governor said “certainly think we can have better leadership that does a better job there” when asked about ALDOT’s leadership under longtime Director John Cooper during an appearance on FM Talk 106.5 in Mobile. He also voiced his opposition in 2019 to a proposal, backed by Ivey, to assess tolls to help finance a more than $2 billion Interstate 10 improvement project and new bridge in Mobile.

Despite the rifts, Ivey joined Ainsworth for his re-election announcement in 2021, in Lake Guntersville.

“She wanted to support me and endorse our campaign,” Ainsworth said later of the governor. “And when the governor calls, you certainly don’t say no. You say yes. We’re honored to have her support.”