A $14.2 million grant recently announced by U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama, could lead to increased development in Decatur-annexed Limestone County.

The grant, which was awarded to Decatur, was made available as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development grant program, or BUILD. The program’s focus is economic development and improving infrastructure.

This $14 million BUILD grant is great news for the city of Decatur and the surrounding region. The money will allow for much-needed improvements and enhancements to current infrastructure in Decatur,” Shelby said in a release issued earlier this month. “As Alabama’s transportation needs evolve, it is important that we find ways to support rapid growth, especially in rural areas.”

The release, citing Decatur officials, said there had been a “significant lack of resources” to develop and maintain major rural highway infrastructure. The release added the grant would, “help bridge the gap between Decatur and other main employment areas in the state, providing necessary funding for these much-needed transportation resources.”

How the grant will be used

The grant will aid in the construction of an overpass bridge at the intersection of Alabama 20 and Bibb Garrett Road. The project also includes ramps, a new access road, improved highway lighting and accommodations for safe pedestrian access.

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said the project would provide deceleration and acceleration lanes and access to the north and south sides of Alabama 20.

“The creation of a Highway 20 overpass and exchange is the catalyst of growth and change our city has been striving to achieve,” Bowling said.

The area to be developed is the same stretch of land once tapped for Sweetwater — a development that would have included Bass Pro Shops. Talks of the development ended in late 2014 due to legal issues and missed deadlines.

In April 2014, the Decatur City Council approved an incentive package worth about $61 million for the project, though Limestone County had not agreed to ante up any funding. Decatur had agreed to build the overpass connecting Alabama 20 to Bibb-Garrett Road and an access road to the development, which would have been named Bass Pro Drive. Decatur also offered nearly $50 million in tax rebates for the store and a possible hotel.

By September 2014, Genesis — the company seeking to develop 537 acres of property — lost the option to purchase the land. The dismissal of a four-year legal battle between Genesis and the owners was affirmed last month by the Alabama Supreme Court, which means the owners are now free to do as they wish with the property.

Looking forward

Bowling said the city is excited about the opportunities the new project will bring to Alabama 20, a stretch of road many people travel going in and out of Decatur once Interstate 565 ends.

The announcement of the federal grant comes as cities in North Alabama are preparing to meet the future needs of the Toyota Mazda plant and its suppliers. Decatur is now in the process of putting a zoning plan in place.

“This is probably the hottest intersection along Interstate 65. We know there’s going to be a lot of traffic coming to Mazda Toyota and the Tier 1’s and Tier 2’s, everything that it’s going to take to support that,” Bowling said. “(The grant is) going to be a great help, but I really believe it’s going to be more about the development of this area.”

— Raycom News Network reporter Lindsey Connell contributed to this report.