Alabama Department of Transportation changes to benefit West Alabama

Road construction continues Wednesday in the northbound lanes of Interstate 359 as the Alabama Department of Transportation repaves the road.

The reorganization of the Alabama Department of Transportation has proven to be a boon to Fayette.

ALDOT has put a new area office in the city the only new office it is adding in Alabama under a reorganization plan announced last year.

Last week ALDOT announced that it is buying a 52,000-square-foot building located in Fayettes industrial park. The new area office will house highway administration, maintenance, construction and materials operations for a six-county area.

ALDOT, which oversees the states roads and bridges, estimated it would invest more than $6 million during the next three years in Fayette. The move also will bring new jobs to Fayette. How many jobs has not been determined, said ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris.

The Fayette area office will have 110 to 135 ALDOT employees but that number will include managers, supervisors and others workers who will transfer from other ALDOT locations, Harris said.

He noted that ALDOT has lost around 500 employees through retirements and attrition since 2011. Those positions were not refilled, so even if 100 positions were filled, ALDOT still will have around 400 fewer positions than five years ago.

Jobs that might be filled could include clerical, maintenance workers, laborers, warehouse employees, mechanics and equipment repair workers and engineers, according to ALDOT release.

ALDOT said its new organizational structure should provide increased decision-making authority at the local level and more accountability and efficiency.

It is going to have a major economic impact over the next three years for our whole community, Fayette Mayor Ray Nelson said of the new state office.

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Alabama Department of Transportation changes to benefit West Alabama