A non-profit pushing for the widening of Interstate 65 launched a campaign Friday that includes putting billboards along the north-south interstate in hopes of driving support for a massive interstate expansion project backed by Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, and promised by former President Donald Trump if he’s elected in November.

The Go Wide I-65 Coalition’s campaign, which includes a website asking the public to contribute and to promote the project, is expected to unveil billboards soon all along I-65.

It’s unclear how many billboards will be installed, or how they are being paid for. The campaign’s news release suggests the billboards will begin being installed on Friday.

“I-65 is the primary artery of the state of Alabama and literally carries the state’s economic lifeblood every day,” said George Clark, executive director with the coalition who told AL.com that not all the billboards will be installed at once.

The campaign is designed to increase awareness to the project and does call for a widening of the interstate to three lanes in each direction for 366 miles — from the Alabama-Tennessee line south toward Mobile.

Clark is the founder and former president of Manufacture Alabama who, more than a decade ago, worked with associations and business groups to evaluate Alabama’s infrastructure needs and wrote up plans aimed to guide the state in meeting those needs, according to the coalition.

“Lt. Governor Ainsworth has taken the lead for advocating for this essential infrastructure project,” Clark said in a statement. “Our campaign utilizes the foundation he has established.”

Ainsworth, a Republican and a potential candidate for governor in 2026, applauded the coalition’s efforts.

“This coalition offers strong evidence that the desire to widen I-65 is a true grassroots movement bubbling up from frustrated Alabamians who are tired of sitting in standstill interstate traffic,” he said in a statement to AL.com. “I-65 is the main artery that moves goods throughout our state, allows tourists to visit our beaches, and gets Alabamians from Point A to Point B, so fixing an obviously broken transportation system must be our top priority.”

The Go Wide I-65 Coalition’s website describes the “Ainsworth Plan” by proposing to expand I-65 to three lanes on both sides to address congestion and safety issues, foster economic growth and ensure “the state is prepared for future transportation needs,” according to the group’s news release.

“Our goal is to grow this campaign into a much bigger coalition and see expansion adopted by the political leadership of Alabama,” Clark said. “It is perhaps the most important economic development project Alabama can adopt.”

Ainsworth has long pushed for a six-lane expansion of the mostly four-lane interstate and has taken to social media in the past to post images of traffic jams along the route that connects the cities largest metropolitan areas.

According to the Go Wide I-65 website, 80 miles of I-65 consists of three or more lanes including 53 miles between Exit 291 and 283, 14 miles near Prattville and 13 miles near Saraland.

The website notes that two projects are adding seven miles of additional lanes from Alabaster to Calera, and two miles near Saraland. The seven-mile project is estimated to cost around $200 million.

ALDOT has committed to also rehabilitating the existing I-65 bridges over the Tennessee River, at an estimated cost of $30 million.

Gina Maiola, a spokesperson for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, said they are appreciative of the efforts to highlight I-65.

“We appreciate having the support of the Coalition and lieutenant governor in this ongoing infrastructure priority of Governor Ivey,” Maiola said.

The coalition says that despite the ongoing work, “approximately 277 miles of I-65 is left for expansion to three lanes.”

According to the website, “An expansion plan of this size will take years to accomplish and would be impossible to fund and construct all at once. Alabama must set priorities that generate the most improvements in the quickest time possible. Setting expansion priorities will also make this project more economically feasible. The Ainsworth Plan proposes a phased approach to funding and construction, focusing on sections that will have the most immediate impact and can be completed in a timely manner.”

Ainsworth has gathered some support for the project in recent years. In May 2023, the Alabama State Senate — which Ainsworth, as lieutenant governor, presides over — backed a resolution urging the Alabama Department of Transportation to study and prioritize improvements and additional lane capacity for I-65.

He got an extra boost for the project last August when Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, vowed to make the project a priority during the “first day” of his presidency if he’s elected on Nov. 5.

“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,” Ainsworth said at the time.

The I-65 project in its entirety has plenty of skeptics. Last fall, Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter said while he favors getting a start on adding additional lanes to I-65 — where they are needed — there were other more pressing and immediate transportation projects the state should prioritize.

Ainsworth’s plan also has butted up against the Ivey administration’s focus on adding lanes to U.S. 43 in West Alabama and creating a thoroughfare from Thomasville north 80 miles toward Moundville near Tuscaloosa.

Ainsworth, the state’s No. 2 elected official, has criticized the transportation priorities of adding lanes to U.S. 43, saying that the West Alabama Highway Corridor has “less than 1/20th of the traffic count” as I-65.

Ainsworth, last year, clarified that he is supportive of that project, and visited with Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day last August to discuss the project. He believes federal money should be pursued to pay for U.S. 43′s widening.

Ivey also weighed in last September, saying the U.S. 43/I-65 debate was not an “either-or proposition.”

The U.S. 43 project is not mentioned on the Go Wide 65 Coalition’s website. Instead, the focus is strictly on I-65, which the group believes will lead to increased tourism, accommodate future growth, improve the quality of life and benefit the environment.

This story was updated at 12:25 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2024, to include a statement from the governor’s spokesperson.