Tuscaloosa City finance committee authorizes application for $22.6M BUILD grant with $4M local match

Tuscaloosa City’s finance committee voted to authorize staff to apply for the 2026 BUILD grant, agreeing to include a proposed $4,000,000 local match intended to strengthen an expected $22.6 million federal request for a transportation project in Councilor Eaton’s district.

City staff presented the project background and financing during the committee meeting. Speaker 3, a city staff member, summarized prior grant activity, saying the city’s 2022 RAISE application was not awarded but received favorable comments from the Alabama Department of Transportation, and that a planned VIP grant cycle was canceled; staff then asked for authorization to submit a BUILD application. “We are asking for a $4,000,000 match,” Speaker 3 said, adding that a local match is not required but would make the application more competitive.

The proposal would represent about a 15% local match on a federal request staff said would be roughly $22,600,000, for a total project cost around $26.6 million. Staff said the $4,000,000 figure was based on prior application assumptions (roughly an 80/20 federal/local split in past submissions) and on recommendations from Grama Matter Consulting.

Clint (Speaker 2) reviewed the project schedule and design elements. He said the project is in preliminary design with final design next and that staff expects a BUILD award announcement in June–July, subject to federal scheduling. He described right-of-way acquisition as likely taking about a year and a half and said the construction window shown in staff plans spans roughly two years: from Jan. 28 to Dec. 29 in the project schedule. “We’re estimating about a year and a half it’ll take to get all right of way,” Speaker 2 said.

Staff noted the project crosses an active railroad that operates around the clock and is adjacent to a rail yard; that constraint informed the construction timeline and will require close coordination with the railroad. “There’ll be a lot of communication between the project manager and the railroad crew to work together to get the timing of, during construction down,” Speaker 2 said.

Design details to be included in the application, staff said, are a 10-foot shared-use path on the north side, a 6-foot sidewalk on the south side, pedestrian lighting and a camera package that will cover the project limits. “They’ll all be included… it doesn’t show cameras, but cameras will be included,” Speaker 2 said. A public-right-of-way concern flagged during outreach (referred to as an H and M matter) was addressed last July, staff said.

After questions from committee members about how the $4,000,000 figure was calculated and what portion represented previously budgeted funds, the committee moved to authorize staff to apply. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Votes at a glance - Adopt minutes: motion made and seconded; adopted by voice vote (SEG 001–006). - Authorize application for 2026 BUILD grant: motion to authorize staff to apply for the BUILD grant with a proposed $4,000,000 local match; seconded (Speaker 4); approved by voice vote (SEG 200–214).

What happens next Staff will submit the BUILD application with the proposed match and supporting design materials. Staff said they expect to know the award outcome in late June, subject to federal timing and any government shutdowns noted during the meeting.