MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama lawmakers are examining one of the less discussed expenses of building and widening roads: the relocation of power lines, water pipes and broadband cables.
A special Joint Study Commission on Utility Relocation Costs met this week at the State House to review how those projects are funded, whether reimbursement rules should change and where new money might come from.
When roads are built or expanded, utility lines often must be moved. Sometimes the companies pay for the work themselves, sometimes they are reimbursed, but the cost often ends up with taxpayers.
“We passed Rebuild Alabama and that means more road projects going on across the state,” said Rep. Chris Blackshear, R-Phenix City, who chairs the commission. “With that comes added expenses. Utilities that are underground, some above ground, and when you expand roads, those utilities must be relocated. That is now a much larger and more complicated cost than we have dealt with in the past.”
Blackshear said the group wants to keep projects moving while limiting the impact on customers’ utility bills.
“To figure out the way to bridge the gap between not losing dollars that need to go for new roads or replacement of roads, to also understanding that you want to try to control the cost of utilities to your customers, which are our citizens,” he said.
Sen. Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, warned that changing who pays certain costs and changing reimbursement formulas could have unintended consequences.
“I think we have to be careful here,” Chambliss said. “We can upset the apple cart very easily in one direction or the other, and all of us be worse off. That is how sensitive I think this subject is.”
Skip Powe, executive director of the Alabama Road Builders Association, said relocation expenses can delay or reduce the scope of long-planned road work.
“Highway 14 between Wetumpka and Millbrook has been needed for years,” Powe said. “Projects like that are going to be affected, and those are the ones where utilities are going to be relocated. Every dollar we spend is going to affect the ability to widen a roadway somewhere, which is going to affect us all getting to where we need to go.”
Thomasville Mayor Sheldon Day, who joined the meeting remotely, said outdated utility maps add another challenge.
“There is not a tremendous amount of maps available,” Day said. “We have done a good job of mapping our system, but I do not know what was put in the ground 70 years ago. At the end of the day, we want to make sure the project gets done at the most reasonable cost, but also make us whole as best possible.”
Broadband expansion, fueled by billions of dollars in state and federal funding, is adding another layer of cost and coordination.
“Progress is great. Progress is moving the state forward,” said Taylor Vice, president of the Alabama Cable and Broadband Association. “But in addition to roads and road projects being completed, we also have billions of dollars going into broadband deployment across the state. And from our perspective, that is equally as important.”
The commission plans to bring recommendations, including possible pilot programs or new incentives before the next legislative session. Blackshear said the goal is to move carefully while finding a plan that protects taxpayers and keeps infrastructure projects on schedule.
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