Alabama in Need of Road Repairs to Spur Economic Development
A report out this week from a Washington think tank outlines the top transportation maintenance projects it says are needed to improve economic growth in Alabama.
The report from TRIP, a transportation research group, finds it would take $4.6 billion to make those improvements to state roads.
According to the report, vehicle travel in Alabama has increased more than 54 percent since 1990. In just the last year that number is up 3.4 percent.
“That’s a positive sign,” says Rocky Moretti, director of research and policy for TRIP. “It reflects economic activity. It reflects people’s ability to be more mobile and take advantage of their ability to get places.”
More drivers means more wear and tear on roads and more traffic, Moretti says.
Of the top 20 projects, seven are in the Birmingham area, according to the report. The most urgent include widening Interstate 65 through portions of Birmingham and Shelby County. But there is also great need for road improvement in rural areas.
“We have a relatively nice and well maintained airport, but if you went out the road to that airport, you would not want to get on a plane if you thought it was maintained like the road,” says Don Mitchell, executive director of the Blount County Economic Development Council.
It’s hard to attract businesses to Blount County if the roads around the airport look as if four-wheel drive is needed to traverse them, Mitchell says.
Transportation improvements boost Alabama’s economy in the short-term by creating jobs and in the long-term by making the state more economically competitive, TRIP says.
Trump names former Florida AG Pam Bondi as his new pick for U.S. attorney general
After former Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, President-elect Donald Trump named Pam Bondi, a former attorney general of Florida, as his next pick for U.S. attorney general.
Police report gives details, timeline of the sexual assault claim against Pete Hegseth
The woman who accused then-Fox News host of sexual assault in 2017 said that she "remembered saying 'no' a lot," according to a police report. Hegseth is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Secretary of Defense.
Alabama Black Belt’s sewer crisis a tougher fix for residents in manufactured homes
Poor sanitation has long plagued residents in Alabama’s Black Belt. For people with manufactured houses, finding a solution has been more challenging.
In Birmingham, Black men’s groups work to save young men from the cycle of gun violence
As the city inches closer to its homicide record, community members are trying to address a sense of fatalism and lack of opportunity felt by some young men.
What is the ICC and can it really arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
The ICC also issued warrants for Yoav Gallant, former Israeli defense minister, and Hamas leader Muhammad Deif. But it doesn't have an enforcement mechanism and relies on states to make the arrests.
Former Brazilian president indicted over alleged coup plot
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro and several others have been charged with attempting to overthrow incoming government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
