Ward seeks to create statewide transportation commission

By Neal Wagner (Contact) | Shelby County Reporter

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2009

An Alabaster state representative has joined a Madison County representative in seeking to create a statewide transportation commission.

Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, teamed with Rep. Mac McCutcheon, R-Capshaw, to file a bill for the 2010 Alabama legislative session requesting the state form the commission.

If approved, the commission would determine and oversee bridge and road construction across the state.

The bill calls for the establishment of an independent transportation commission, which would be comprised of members with professional transportation knowledge and engineering background, according to a release from Ward’s office.

Commissioners would be appointed by the governor, and would serve six-year staggered terms. The commissioners would also appoint the director of the Alabama Department of Transportation.

According to Ward, the commission would more equally distribute road and bridge construction to all areas of the state.

“For far too long, politics has dictated where transportation monies are spent. That practice has to stop, and road projects should be based on critical need, not a senator’s greed,” Ward stated in a press release. “Shelby and Bibb counties only get back 30 cents for road improvements for every dollar in gasoline taxes we send to Montgomery.

“That’s not equitable, and I am working to change it,” Ward added. “For three sessions in a row, my colleagues and I have gotten this bill through the House of Representatives only to have it die at the hands of the power brokers in the Senate.”

The bill is expected to be taken up by the Legislature during its January 2010 session.

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