Montgomery Wins $13.4M to Modernize Interstate Lighting
The federal Safe Streets and Roads for All grant will fund Phase One of an effort to replace aging highway lights across Montgomery's interstate corridors.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Electric Vehicles
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The City of Montgomery was awarded $13.4 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation's Safe Streets and Roads for All program to modernize interstate lighting. Phase One will replace 741 obsolete fixtures with 1,062 LED luminaires along 7.9 centerline miles of I-65 and I-85.
Why it matters
City engineers found widespread outages, uneven illumination and broken lowering mechanisms on high-mast poles, and much of the infrastructure is more than 50 years old and past its intended service life. Safety data showing dark-condition crashes on these corridors underscores the case for the upgrades.
The $16.75 million Phase One project replaces 741 fixtures with 1,062 LED luminaires across 7.9 centerline miles and 15 construction zones. Of 49 corridor crashes reviewed from 2019 to 2023, 19 occurred in dark conditions.
The players
U.S. Department of Transportation
The federal cabinet department that administers the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program, which funds local efforts to reduce roadway deaths and serious injuries.
City of Montgomery
The Alabama state capital that received the grant and will oversee the interstate lighting modernization project along I-65 and I-85.
The details
The upgrades include restoring ground-level maintenance access and installing wireless outage monitoring, with work covering the I-65/I-85 interchange. Federal funds cover 80% of the cost, and the city is responsible for the remaining local match.
Timeline
Oct. 30, 2026: Federal grant announced through the DOT Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
2019 to 2023: Period of corridor crashes reviewed in the city's safety data, including 32 fatal or serious-injury crashes and eight fatalities.
Roadmap
The Safe Streets and Roads for All program directs federal dollars toward local roadway safety projects aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries on public roads. Montgomery's interstate lighting upgrade applies that framework to a corridor where dark-condition crashes account for a substantial share of incidents.
Drivers on the affected corridors can expect improved nighttime visibility once new LED fixtures are installed across the project's construction zones. Restored ground-level maintenance access and wireless outage monitoring are intended to shorten repair times for lighting failures.
The takeaway
Aging roadway infrastructure can carry hidden safety costs, and dark-condition crashes make reliable lighting a practical priority for drivers on busy interstates. Watch for construction updates as Phase One moves forward.
Further reading
For related coverage, explore Electric Vehicles news from across the region.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Wsfa.
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Should your city spend local tax dollars to match federal road-lighting grants?
