Chambers County is one of 21 Alabama cities and counties to be selected to receive a 2023 Rebuild Alabama Grant.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced the recipients of the grants Wednesday and Chambers has been awarded $247,965 to widen and resurface Phillips Rd to Highway 50.

Previous funding for the Phillips Road project had the resurfacing project ending approximately a half mile south of Highway 50.

Originally, the project was to transition from three 12 foot lanes down to two 11 foot lanes a half-mile from Highway 50. This grant will allow the two lane stretch to expand to 12 foot lanes and be resurfaced.

The additional foot of lane capacity improves driver safety in various conditions.

Harvill was not sure how this project would compete with others and credits State Senator Randy Price and Representative Debbie Wood with pushing this forward.

“[A] special thank you to Senator Price and Representative Wood for championing this project for us,” Harvill said. “know we would not have competed without their strong support.”

Ivey announced more than $5.1 million in state funding for various road and bridge projects.

The funding is made available through the Annual Grant Program, a program created under the Rebuild Alabama Act. The Rebuild Alabama Act, overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature and signed by Governor Ivey in 2019, requires the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) to establish an annual program setting aside $10 million off the top of the state’s share of new gas tax revenue for local projects.

“Just recently, we marked the fourth anniversary of Rebuild Alabama, and it has continued to show it produces nothing less than real, tangible results. With this grant, 21 new projects will be underway and under development, ready to benefits folks in all corners of the state,” Ivey said. “I’m proud of Rebuild Alabama’s success, and I look forward to seeing how it continues to improve such critical infrastructure. Alabama’s roads and bridges are making substantial progress, and we look forward to this continuing.”

Of the awarded projects, cities and counties also contributed a total of over $2.9 million in local matching funds. Matching funds are not required to be eligible. It is anticipated that a number of projects will be under contract by the end of this year.

All projects are required to move forward within one year of the awarding of funds. With this round of funding, more than $145 million in state transportation has been awarded through the local grant programs