MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey, in an effort to reinforce highway safety across Alabama, has awarded nearly $7 million in grants. These efforts are aimed at making Alabama roads safer by preventing injuries and fatalities while also ensuring that offenders are prosecuted.

The state’s four regional traffic safety offices and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency will use the funds to cover overtime for local police officers, sheriffs’ deputies and state troopers conducting extra patrols and checkpoints during peak travel times, like major holidays, targeting speeding, seat belt violations and impaired driving. Funding will cover major enforcement details like “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

“In Alabama, we are funding our law enforcement community to ensure their efforts to protect our communities are supported,” said Governor Ivey. “These grants will go a long way in reinforcing highway safety across our state. As we head into another peak travel time, that will be even more important. Ensuring public safety is one of the primary responsibilities of government and is a top priority for the Ivey Administration.”

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants from funds made available to the state by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“ADECA stands with Governor Ivey, the four highway safety offices and local law enforcement agencies who are helping make Alabama’s roads safer for everyone traveling in our state,” said ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell.

Governor Ivey awarded the following grants:

• $1.39 million to the Franklin County Commission for the North Central Alabama Highway Safety Office. The office serves Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Fayette, Franklin, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Jackson, Madison, Marshall, Marion, Morgan, Pickens, Walker and Winston counties.

• $1.66 million to the city of Opelika for the East Central Alabama Highway Safety Office which serves Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Elmore, Etowah, Jefferson, Lee, Macon, Randolph, St. Clair, Shelby, Talladega and Tallapoosa counties.

• $1.21 million for the Southeast Alabama Regional Highway Safety Office at Enterprise State Community College. The office serves Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes, Montgomery, Pike, Russell and Tuscaloosa counties.

• $957,369 to the Mobile County Commission for the Southwest Regional Highway Safety Office which serves Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Escambia, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Perry, Sumter, Washington and Wilcox counties.

• $1.54 million to ALEA cover overtime for state troopers who are working extra shifts during periods and in locations that have high numbers of speeding and impaired driving violations.

• $183,106 to the Office of Prosecution Services to provide local prosecutors and local law enforcement with a veteran statewide prosecutor that will provide training, education, legal research and technical assistance on traffic safety related issues.

ADECA manages a wide array of programs that support law enforcement and traffic safety, workforce development, energy conservation, water resource management, economic development and recreation.

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