The Mobile area is positioned to receive more than $1 billion in federal funding after Congress passed a package of spending bills this week, according to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa. The legislation cleared the U.S. House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday by a vote of 68-31, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk.
“Throughout every appropriations process, I have worked diligently to create the conditions for growth and success throughout the state of Alabama, and that certainly includes Mobile,” Shelby said in a statement. “I am very proud to announce that this package includes more than $1 billion in funding for the Mobile area, with $300 million for improvements to the Port and the airport. South Alabama stands to benefit immensely from these investments. Mobile has a lot of potential, and this funding will improve upon its existing infrastructure to transform our coast and the entire state.”
Among the largest allocations, the Mobile Downtown Airport will receive $100 million to purchase land, conduct surveys and renovate and relocate on-site facilities. The Port of Mobile is set to receive $132 million for land acquisition, dock construction and site development, funding that officials say will help the port keep pace with growing shipping demand along the Gulf Coast.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will receive $65 million for dredging activities in the region, along with $50 million earmarked for maintaining donor and energy transfer ports, work tied to keeping shipping channels navigable for the vessels that move cargo through Mobile Bay.
More than $500 million of the package is directed toward the construction of one additional Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel and an Expeditionary Medical Ship, continuing a long relationship between Mobile’s shipbuilding industry and federal defense contracts.
The University of South Alabama will receive $60 million to construct a new medical science building, while an additional $81 million is directed to the U.S. Coast Guard and area fisheries programs along the Gulf Coast.
Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson thanked Shelby for securing the funding, framing it as part of a broader period of investment in the city. “Our city is undergoing an unprecedented transformation that would not be possible without Senator Shelby’s vision and dedication to Mobile,” Stimpson said in a statement. “This latest investment in our success will have a positive impact on many generations to come.”
The funding reflects the outsized role federal appropriations have long played in Mobile’s infrastructure, from port and airport expansions to shipbuilding contracts that support thousands of regional jobs. Large-scale investments like this one are typically spread out over multiple years as individual projects move through design, environmental review and construction phases.