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Gadsden City announces federal funds, contracts and timelines for drainage, sports park and bridge work

Gadsden City · February 4, 2026

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Summary

Mayor Craig Ford said the city secured $5–$6 million toward a $20 million South Gadsden drainage project, awarded a shell contract for the new Gadsden Athletic Center, and received an appropriation for Broad Street Bridge rehabilitation that will take about 18 months to process.

Mayor Craig Ford said Gadsden City has been approved for about $5–$6 million in federal assistance toward the roughly $20,000,000 South Gadsden drainage project. "We have been approved to up to 5 to $6,000,000 from [Katie Britt's] office and congressman Rogers' office for this project to go forward, and it's in the budget," Ford said.

Ford also described progress on the sports park behind Gadsden State and work on the Gadsden Athletic Center. He said bidding is proceeding in phases: the shell of the athletic center was awarded about a month ago to Clements Dean, and the larger interior bid will be released in about six weeks. The final phase of the sports park (phase 5) will add four pickleball courts, fire pits and a 225-foot turf championship field with stadium seating; the plan also includes tennis court work and clearing trees that have affected the turf.

On the Broad Street Bridge, Ford said the city has an appropriation in hand but it will take roughly 18 months to process the funds before construction begins. He described the bridge as having been paved in asphalt over an original concrete structure and said planned work includes pressure washing, patching and repaving; Ford added he hopes to illuminate the bridge when work is complete.

Ford did not provide exact contract amounts for the athletic center's interior work, a precise timetable for sports-park construction beyond the bid-release estimate, nor detailed procurement documents; those specifics were not specified in his remarks. The mayor said the projects reflect federal and local collaboration and framed the funding as money "coming back to the city of Gadsden."