Governor Ivey announced earlier this week more than $40 million in awards to Counties from all over Alabama from ARTIP-II, funds allocated from the newly implemented Gas Tax, and none of which included Cullman County. Despite being left out on funds from the Gas Tax in this year’s first round of awards, the county did received $900,000 in grants for road improvement funds through the CDBG fund, a program that was enacted in 1974 to provide funding for community development programs.
Neighboring Winston County, which Senator Garlan Gudger also represents in the Alabama State Senate, received a total of $3 million in grants from Gas Tax related funding. The Town of Double Springs was awarded over $1 million to add an additional left run lane and to extend the adjacent right turn lane at the Intersection of CR-24 and State Route 33, while the County government got an additional $2 million to resurface U.S. Highway 278. This comes out to just under 10% of the $40 million total coming to Senator Gudger’s district.
Among the local delegation in Cullman County, Senator Garlan Gudger and Representative Shedd both voted in favor of it passing the legislature, while Representative Stadthagen and Corey Harbison each voted against the Gas Tax increase during the 2019 Legislative session. Below is a list of each County who received funding in order from the greatest amount to least:
- Baldwin County, $3,635,967.32
- Winston County, $3,009,904.50
- Lee County, $2,504,484.40
- Jefferson, $2,000,000
- Tuscaloosa, $1,981,274
- Walker, $1,880,304.29
- Monroe, $1,770,190
- St. Clair, $1,739,158.81
- Shelby, $1,614,890.43
- Lauderdale, $1,581,730.63
- Mobile – $1,554,920
- Colbert, $1,554,337.88
- Calhoun, $1,539,738
- Limestone, $1,491,147.45
- Madison, $1,350,000
- Dale, $1,154,617
- Perry, $1,082,584.20
- Washington, $932,589
- Lamar, $865,636.25
- Chilton, $685,583
- Clay, $680,000
- Butler, $561,620
- Etowah, $545,289.75
- Escambia, $386,000
- Geneva, $350,000
