MONTGOMERY— Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded a $500,000 grant to resurface and make other upgrades on a six-mile stretch of Mooresville Road, formerly a farm-to-market road, that has become a major link between Interstate 565 and the Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing plant in Limestone County.
The Community Development block grant will fund repairing, leveling and resurfacing the road and improving the shoulders. Turn lanes and traffic signals will also be added at some intersections.
“New industry, jobs and increased traffic mean it is time for this road to advance to accommodate those changes,” Ivey said. “I am pleased to provide this grant to assist with these improvements.”
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said ADECA is pleased to join with the governor and Limestone County in this project.
“Mazda-Toyota Manufacturing is bringing good jobs to north Alabama and changes and improvements are part of that process as the facility revs up,” he said.
Collin Daly, chairman of the Limestone County Commission, pledged $200,000 in local support for the project.
The road connects I-565 to U.S. 72, about a mile from the automobile plant. When the plant is in full operation, the road will become a major artery for the plant, which is expected to employ more than 4,000 people.
