On Tuesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced that the Alabama Department of Transportation (ADOT) selected Autauga and Cherokee counties for “major transportation projects” as part of the Rebuild Alabama First Year Plan 2020, according to a press release.

Rebuild Alabama is the name given to Ivey’s infrastructure plan, which imposes additional taxes on gasoline and some vehicles to fund construction and maintenance projects on roads and bridges across the state.

“Drivers across Alabama have experienced the troubles of the state’s crumbling infrastructure for far too long,” Ivey said. “In selecting these projects in Autauga and Cherokee counties, we’re showing that stagnation is no longer the case in Alabama. For the ease of our drivers, for the safety of our drivers and for the future of our state, it’s finally time we Rebuild Alabama.”

The project in Autauga County will focus on expanding Hwy 82 in Prattville, a long-awaited upgrade in the area that will shorten commutes for more than 17,000 drivers and complete the Prattville Bypass.

“These are the first steps of many that will begin the process of Rebuild Alabama,” said Alabama Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville. “I firmly believe that we will look back on 2019 as a turning point in the history of our state.”

Along with easing commute times, the Hwy 82 expansion will improve access for loggers from 18 Alabama counties traveling to the International Paper plant in Prattville and improve access to companies in the area.

In Cherokee County, one of only 16 counties in the state not served by a four-lane route to an interstate, a similar scene will play out along Hwy 411.

State, county and municipal governments will begin seeing additional revenue from fuel taxes in January – upon full implementation, Autauga County will see as much as $1.02 million in additional revenue and Cherokee County will see a $750,000 increase.