17 AL counties awarded highway safety grants

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - Nearly one-million dollars in grants have been awarded to law enforcement agencies across the southeastern portion of the state by Gov. Kay Ivey, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs reports.

According to ADECA, the exact amount is $994,403 and the funds will be used to support law-enforcement efforts to prevent injuries and fatalities in 17 counties as Labor Day Weekend approaches.

The funds will support the Southeast Alabama Highway Traffic Safety Office which covers 15 counties in southeast Alabama as well as Bibb and Tuscaloosa Counties.

The office supports the efforts of law enforcement agencies to provide increased traffic enforcement, checkpoints, among other things. The extra enforcement will cover impaired driving and excessive speed "hotspots" as identified by the University of Alabama's Center for Advanced Public Safety.

Overtime during the national "Click it or Ticket" and "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaigns will also be covered under the near-million dollar grant.

"Law enforcement presence on our roads and highways is a very effective deterrent to those breaking traffic laws, and this grand funding will ensure that officers are out on the roads during busy travel periods," said Ivey. "However, I encourage motorists to obey all traffic laws and to be attentive so that they may prevent accidents before they happen."

The counties receiving the grants will be: Autauga, Barbour, Bibb, Bullock, Butler, Coffee, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lowndes, Montgomery, Pike, Russell and Tuscaloosa.

The grants will be administered from funds made available to the state by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The grants will be administered by ADECA.

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