Republican lawmakers are calling on a “sound strategy” toward adding six lanes to Interstate 65 after the project was touted as a priority by former President Donald Trump on Friday.

But is the GOP falling for false bravado from a former president with a history of making lofty pledges, including major road projects in other parts of the U.S.?

At least one Alabama Democratic lawmaker thinks the GOP is being hoodwinked.

“Who can believe what Trump says?” said state Senator Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, who represents portions of West Alabama where state officials are planning to expand U.S. 43 from Thomasville to Tuscaloosa, despite calls from Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and others that the money would be better spent on widening I-65.

“He’s got them all mesmerized,” Singleton said about Trump’s comments before the Alabama GOP during its summer dinner in Montgomery. “They are under the Trump spell, and he will tell them anything and they will believe it.”

For now, Alabama lawmakers are committed toward a project they believe will have the most impact on the state. The 366 miles of I-65 from the Tennessee-Alabama state line south to Mobile is often congested, especially during summer weekends, as tourists flock south or return north following weekend visits to the beaches.

Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for Ivey in response for a reaction to Trump’s mentioning of I-65 during his speech, said “Governor Ivey and Alabama always welcome any federal support of our important infrastructure projects.”

Trump support

The project has been championed by Ainsworth, who has repeatedly snapped photos of I-65 traffic jams and posted them to social media calling for the interstate’s widening to be prioritized.

Catherine Fuller, deputy chief of staff to Ainsworth, said the lieutenant governor did discuss the widening of I-65 with Trump before the former president spoke during the Alabama GOP’s summer dinner in Montgomery.

Trump, during his speech, vowed to make the project a priority during the “first day” of his presidency if he’s elected in 2024. Trump is handily leading the GOP primary polls, and almost all of Alabama’s Republican congressional delegation has already endorsed him for the nomination.

“Considering President Trump’s deep affection and loyalty for Alabama, we have every confidence he will immediately fulfill his commitment if given a second term in 2024,” said Ainsworth, who is weighing a run for governor in 2026.

Ainsworth pointed to a joint House and Senate resolution, adopted in the spring, urging the current Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) leadership to study and prioritize widening I-65 “so Alabamians may go about their business, tourists may travel throughout our state, and trucks may engage in commerce without sitting idle on what amounts to the world’s longest parking lot.”

State Senator Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, said the resolution was adopted to begin the state’s strategy toward widening I-65. He was the resolution’s sponsor in the Alabama Senate.

“If we don’t start planning for the future right now, then we’re never going to be where we need to be in 10 to 15 years from now,” he said.

I-65 or U.S. 43?

Ainsworth and other lawmakers such as state Senator Chris Elliott, R-Josephine in Baldwin County, suggest the money earmarked toward U.S. 43 be slashed and reapplied to I-65. The U.S. 43 project was loosely estimated to cost around $760 million in late 2021.

The U.S. 43 project is a priority of the Ivey administration, and its use of Rebuild Alabama funds on a road project that can boost a region’s economic development. Ivey has, in the recent past, criticized Ainsworth’s call for cutting U.S. 43 in favor of I-65 as seeking “headlines.”

Ainsworth said that additional federal funding would “certainly allow existing state dollars to be spent on projects in cities, towns, and crossroads across Alabama.” He did not specifically mention the U.S. 43 project in his comments to AL.com. Ainsworth is scheduled to meet in September with Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day, who has long advocated for the U.S. 43 project and who participated in a transportation summit hosted by Trump in 2017. Day joined about 30 officials during a session in which he advocated for rural projects.

“I support the funding needed for all transportation projects and hope the issue will not be used by others to divide and pit rural versus urban in our state,” Day said. “Our rural communities and counties need a piece of the pie and a seat at the table to make sure we are not left out.”

Elliott said he is concerned about borrowing against future fuel tax revenues to complete the U.S. 43 project, currently under construction in Linden and is proposed to move further south toward Thomasville.

He said that committing too much of the Rebuild Alabama money for U.S. 43 will not leave enough funds available for I-65, especially if a state match is required on a federal appropriation.

“My concern is that the DOT has not released its budget numbers on the West Alabama (corridor) yet,” Elliott said. “They claim it’s ($760 million), but the final costs could be double that. It will tie up Alabama’s hands long into the future.”

Elliott said that ALDOT needs to drive the project’s priority through its planning processes, which are currently ongoing. He predicts that individual Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), which are charged with crafting transportation plans for various regions around the state, will sign off on it.

It’s unclear how many MPOs will need to approve the inclusion of I-65 as a priority. Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Huntsville, and Decatur have MPOs that would be required to include I-65 fixes within their regions into their respective short-term plans that are called Transportation Improvement Plans or TIPs.

Birmingham’s mayor, one of the state’s largest cities along I-65, said Monday he is not on board with the idea of prioritizing the project.

“Instead of pouring millions into widening I-65 — which studies show won’t alleviate congestion — why not invest in high-speed rail?” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodifn tweeted Monday. “We can connect communities, reduce traffic, & make AL a leader in sustainable infrastructure. A train to the beach is way better than driving!”

Related content:

Elliott said no one is saying widening I-65 has to be one big project from Mobile to the Tennessee River. “It has to be a bunch of projects. They need to be prioritized. Of course, there are sections of I-65 less traveled than others, no question about it. But let’s not look at it and say that it’s too big of a problem, and let’s not tie up the ability to provide a (state) match. That would be a horrible thing.”

Singleton criticizes the idea of diverting U.S. 43 money to I-65, saying that U.S. 43 is “purely state dollars” and should not be used for a federal project.

He also questions the priority of a wholesale I-65 project based on social media photos of traffic jams.

“The day the lieutenant governor saw that traffic (congestion) on I-65, there was an accident,” Singleton said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s six lanes or not. If he and his friends are not patient enough to sit in traffic, so be it. They need to grow some patience.”

Previous I-65 work

Gudger said he has been impressed with Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s office and ALDOT for the work they have done on I-65 since 2017. Ainsworth, however, criticized ALDOT last month for prioritizing the U.S. 43 project over I-65, and called on change of leadership within the state agency. John Cooper has been ALDOT’s longtime director.

Tony Harris, spokesman for ALDOT, said projects have already been underway along I-65. They include:

• Over $70 million was invested in the widening of I-65 for four to six lanes within the Alabaster area.
• A new I-65 bridge was built at Calera, which also included an expansion of the I-65 interchange at the city. According to Harris, the “completion of this project makes the future widening of I-65 possible.”
• This year, $30 million is being invested to improve I-65′s bridges over the Tennessee River in North Alabama. The project, Harris said, will extend the life of the 50-year-old bridges.
• More than $600 million has been invested in I-65 improvements, such as widening and maintenance, during Cooper’s tenure with ALDOT. He has been the agency’s director since 2011.

“Improving I-65 along with all our other states, U.S. highways and state roads is a top priority for ALDOT,” Harris said in a statement to AL.com. “Thanks to Rebuild Alabama and recent additional funds, (ALDOT) has been able to make much-needed improvements on I-65, other interstates, and our state highways, as well as assisting local governments. We’re at a point where it will take continued assistance from the federal level to achieve all our future transportation goals.”

Rebuild Alabama is a state program, adopted in 2019, to provide grants for infrastructure projects throughout the state. The program is financed through a gradual 10-cent-per-gallon increase in the state’s fuel tax.

Transportation planning

Harris said the state is finalizing priorities that are listed within the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) for fiscal years 2024-2027. The proposed STIP should be publicly unveiled in October during a Joint Transportation Committee meeting in Montgomery.

“This plan takes a balanced approach to addressing local projects, maintenance, safety, congestion relief and economic development roads across all 67 counties of Alabama,” Harris said.

The STIP and more regionalized TIPs, which are adopted by MPOs, detail short-term transportation priorities. Each MPO in the state must produce a list of transportation projects that are included within the TIP covering at least a four-year period.

Federal regulations require STIPs and TIPs to be “fiscally constrained,” meaning that projects listed in those documents can be implemented through committed or available resources.

The joint resolution adopted by state lawmakers does not include any specific direction over how to pay for I-65.