During an appearance on Wednesday’s broadcast of Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal,” State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) offered his assessment of the Rebuild Alabama Act, which was passed in 2019 and incrementally raised the tax on fuel in Alabama.
Three years into the bill, Chambliss said there were successes at the local level. However, he acknowledged slower progress on the state level given the size of the projects and other circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic and supply-chain disruptions.
“On the local side, I think it’s going really well,” he said. “The local entities were geared up, have smaller projects, and it is easier to get those going. On the state side, it has been a little bit slower because the projects are so big, and they take a lot more effort to get them to that point.”
“We have the federal side of the equation that enters in on the state side,” Chambliss continued. “However, even with all of that — even with COVID, all of the supply chain issues, we have made tremendous progress. Highway 82 in Prattville is one of those testaments. There has been a lot of dirt moved — a lot more to go. The bridges are nearly complete. That is a project that has been sitting there ready and needing financing for generations. And it just wasn’t able to be done with the resources that we have.”
“And why it’s so important in that particular situation, we have log trucks every day going to the mill in and out of Prattville there,” he added. “We have James Hardy that is there in the industrial park, and they have a lot of trucks coming in and out. So, it really increases the safety of the community — not only the Prattville community but all of those that travel between Prattville and Montgomery. It’s heavily traveled roads.”
“I’m very pleased,” Chambliss continued. “Are we finished? Do we have all the work complete? No. It’s in process. It’s coming, and it’s going to be a great thing for our state down the road.”
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.
