FHA awards state $1.64M to bolster outdoor recreation

Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday announced the awarding of nearly $1.64 million to enhance Yellowhammer State outdoor recreational venues.

The funds will help build and improve trails in eight communities, according to the governor’s office.

“Alabama’s outdoor trails are an excellent invitation for individuals, groups and families to get outside and enjoy our state’s natural beauty,” said Ivey in a release. “I am proud to award these funds and create more opportunities for Alabamians and visitors to enjoy outdoor recreation in our beautiful state.”

The funds, made available by the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program, will be administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said “trails and recreational facilities add so much to the quality of life in Alabama communities.”

“Seeing a well-kept and well-used trail or other recreational facility relays to everyone that this is a community that takes pride itself and its people,” he said. “ADECA is pleased to join Governor Ivey in supporting these trail projects.”

Grant descriptions and receiving communities as follows: 

• Brundidge – $200,000 to resurface with asphalt and extend the trail at Ramage Park and expand the parking area.
• Calhoun County Commission – $300,000 to construct a trailhead campsite with water, sewer and electric hookups at the former Fort McClellan Army base in Anniston. The site offers nearly 20 miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding.
• Cleveland – $90,148 to construct a walking trail, new gate and benches at the Cleveland Family Recreation and Wildlife Habitat area. The project will include building a boardwalk across a pond.
• Colbert County Commission – $244,952 to expand the Alloys Park campground by adding 17 campsites with hookups, a parking area and sidewalks. The campground is located at the Wilson Lake compound of the Tennessee River.
• City of Cullman – $300,000 to construct a partially lighted motorized trail for golf carts at Palomino RV Resort at Burrow-Hamilton Farm. The 170-acre park is located off Cullman County Road 222 west of Interstate 65. It offers recreational vehicle and other campers opportunities to fish, paddle, swim and play pickleball and basketball and more.
• City of Fayette – $210,000 to construct a .25 mile-long, 10-foot-wide multi-use trail in downtown along an abandoned railroad bed as part of the first phase of the 2.2-mile-long project. The trail will extend from the Fayette Railroad Depot to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
• Opelika – $210,000 to construct a multi-use trail along the banks of Pepperell Branch off Waverly Parkway and U.S. Highway 280.
• Slocomb – $88,032 to construct a 1.75-mile walking and bicycling trail and a parking area south of McCullough Road.