MONTGOMERY, AL – Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday awarded nearly $1.64 million to improve outdoor recreational venues in Alabama. Funds from the federal Recreational Trails Program will be used to build, restore and improve trails in eight communities across the state.
“Alabama’s outdoor trails are an excellent invitation for individuals, groups and families to get outside and enjoy our state’s natural beauty,” said Governor Ivey. “I am proud to award these funds and create more opportunities for Alabamians and visitors to enjoy outdoor recreation in our beautiful state.”
Governor Ivey awarded the grants from funds made available by the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) is administering the awards.
“Trails and recreational facilities add so much to the quality of life in Alabama communities,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell. “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. ADECA is pleased to join Governor Ivey in supporting these trail projects.”
Below is a description of grants awarded by Governor Ivey:
- 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 about 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 ¼-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.
ADECA administers a wide range of programs that support law enforcement, victim assistance programs, economic development, water resource management, energy conservation and recreation.
###
