Fairhope Seeks $9 Million Federal Grant for Fairhope Avenue Safety Overhaul
The May 11 vote authorizes Mayor Sherry Sullivan to apply to the FHWA Safe Streets and Roads for All program. If awarded, the funding would target three Fairhope Avenue intersections — Ingleside, South Mobile Street, and Bishop — plus downtown pedestrian improvements. The city's 20 percent local match would be $1.8 million.
The Fairhope City Council on Monday, May 11, authorized Mayor Sherry Sullivan to apply for a $9 million federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Implementation grant to fund safety improvements along the Fairhope Avenue corridor.
The vote came as Resolution #9 on the regular meeting agenda. If the grant is awarded, the Federal Highway Administration would cover $7.2 million of the project, with the city responsible for a 20 percent local match of $1,800,000.
Agenda excerpt, May 11, 2026 Fairhope City Council Regular Meeting, page 1.
What the money would pay for
According to the resolution and the accompanying staff memo from Interim Public Works Director John Thomas, the application identifies three Fairhope Avenue intersection improvements plus a package of downtown pedestrian projects:
- Ingleside Street at Fairhope Avenue
- South Mobile Street at Fairhope Avenue
- Bishop Road at Fairhope Avenue
- Pedestrian-safety improvements in downtown Fairhope
Fairhope Avenue corridor recommendations. Source: Fairhope Safe Streets and Roads for All Safety Action Plan, May 2026.
The staff memo says the projects "are coming from the Safe Streets for All Safety Action Plan and the City's priority streets projects," and notes that Kimley-Horn — the engineering firm the city hired in April to assemble the application — is also working with the Fairhope Police Department to fold pedestrian-safety elements into the grant. "Final details of the projects are not available yet because they are still being worked on," the memo states.
SS4A grant staff memo, May 11 meeting packet, page 92.
How the project got here
This is the second SS4A-related action the Council has taken in five weeks. At its April 13 meeting, the Council approved the selection of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. as the city's professional consultant on the SS4A implementation application (RFQ PS26-025), authorizing the mayor to execute a not-to-exceed contract.
Fairhope Safe Streets and Roads for All Safety Action Plan (May 2026), City of Fairhope.
The Safe Streets and Roads for All program is a federal initiative administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Federal Highway Administration. It funds local plans and projects aimed at reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries. The completed Safety Action Plan — an earlier SS4A milestone the city wrapped up before this spring's grant-application work began — established the priority projects now being packaged into this grant request.
What happens next
The application heads to FHWA under the federal SS4A Implementation Funding Program, which is a competitive grant cycle (Docket No. DOT-OST-2026-0050, issued March 27, 2026). If awarded, project design will move forward; if not, the city retains the priority list and can resubmit in future cycles.
The May 11 meeting also included a separate, smaller federal grant action — Resolution #8 authorized an Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) TAP grant application of $1,286,100 for pedestrian crossing signals at the intersection of State Routes 104 and 181, also with an 80/20 match requirement.