Greene County
In 2024, the Renewal of Alabama Commission awarded $1.3 million to the Greene County Industrial Board for site work and public infrastructure at the Crossroads of America Industrial Park in Boligee. Located just a mile from the interstate, the park spans 1,500 acres and now offers an upgraded site ready for industry.
Not only is the industrial park in top shape but getting to and from Greene County is becoming smoother and easier. Since the summer of 2025, the Alabama Department of Transportation has been working to improve a section of Interstate 20/59 northbound in Greene County with a bridge deck rehabilitation and a new guardrail. Rehabilitating the bridge deck involves removing and replacing worn sections of the bridge surface to restore structural integrity, providing a smoother ride and extending the life of the bridge. The $7.19 million project is scheduled to be complete in Spring 2026.
In addition to the interstate improvements, Greene County was awarded a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant from the state in January 2026. The County Commission plans to use the funds to resurface more than three miles of roads.
The area also continues to create a better quality of life for residents and visitors. Eutaw City Park on Main Street recently installed new playground equipment. A grant through the Tombigbee Resource Conservation and Development Council funded new equipment, including an oversized xylophone and drums geared to “provide activities for those who are stimulated differently,” says Carrie Logan, executive director of the Eutaw Area Chamber of Commerce.
Eutaw also has undertaken a renovation of its historic courthouse, originally constructed in 1839 and rebuilt in 1868-1869. With a grant from the Alabama Historical Commission, the city was able to renovate bathrooms and replace wiring, HVAC, paint and plaster.
The towns of Union and Boligee both received Community Development Block Grants from the state in early 2026. Union plans to use its grant of almost $400,000 to build a community center, and Boligee will use its $400,000 grant for a new playground, shade shelter and walking trail at Boligee Community Park.
A partnership between Greene County Schools and Sumter County Schools has been awarded a $6.5 million Career Technical Education Utilization Grant to build a new regional career technical center. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, and the new center will provide hands-on learning opportunities in high-demand fields such as welding, HVAC, automotive technology, health science and modern manufacturing. Programs at the new center will be designed to equip students with the skills needed to enter the workforce or continue their education in technical fields.
Hale County
Transportation within Hale County also is getting easier with roadway improvement projects. In late 2025, Hale County was awarded $350,000 in funding through the Rebuild Alabama Act. The funds will be used to resurface and widen four-and-a-half miles of County Road 29, a major roadway in the county.
Also, the Hale County Healthcare Authority received $1 million in federal funding for improvements to the Hale County Hospital. The project will expand and renovate the emergency department, increasing the hospital’s capacity to handle an additional 10,000 patient visits per year.
Marengo County
Demopolis in Marengo County is the headquarters location for the new West Alabama Highway Project, a multi-year project that will bring a four-lane divided highway from Thomasville to Moundville. The project will add new lanes to U.S. Highway 43 and State Route 69 with 74 miles of new roadway, including 23 bridges.
The new highway promises to simplify travel throughout western Alabama and complete a four-lane highway corridor of roughly 200 miles connecting Mobile and Tuscaloosa. At the peak of construction, the West Alabama Highway is expected to employ about 700 workers.
Construction recently was completed on the new Linden Bypass, also known as State Route 303, a 4.7-mile, four-lane highway with six bridges. This project is the first major phase of the West Alabama Highway initiative, which will add lanes on U.S. Highway 69 in Marengo County from Linden to the south of County Road 54. In Demopolis, $2 million is allocated for access management on U.S. Highway 80.
Marengo County also received funding for roadway improvements through the Rebuild Alabama Act. The city of Sweet Water was awarded $250,000 for resurfacing a total of 1.06 miles of Main Street and Third Street, which both run to and from State Route 10.
Beyond transportation, the Demopolis City Schools continue to educate and prepare students for future careers. Facility improvements are underway; for example, U.S. Jones Elementary is receiving a $1.5 million renovation, and Demopolis High School recently underwent renovations to upgrade floors and paint throughout the buildings.
Demopolis High School also is expanding its career technical education programs. In addition to computer science, marketing, health sciences, JROTC and JAG, DHS will be adding an emergency fire and management program and transitioning industrial maintenance to modern manufacturing.
In addition to the local city and county schools, Marengo County is now home to the new Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences (ASHS), scheduled to open in August 2026. The school’s first academic year will be hosted on a mini campus at the University of West Alabama, and it will make its home at its own new campus in Demopolis in 2027.
Led by Brasfield & Gorrie, the $72 million, first phase of construction includes the architectural and engineering work, sitework, residential hall, cafeteria and academic building, says Jonathan McElvy, communications representative for ASHS. As the fourth residential high school in the state, ASHS will recruit students from across the state and provide a world-class education for future healthcare leaders.
Sumter County
Work on roadways also is improving access in Sumter County. In 2025, the Alabama Department of Transportation awarded $500,000 to the city of Livingston to improve and widen the industrial access roads in the city’s North and South Industrial Parks. The city and Livingston Industrial Development Board received an additional $200,000 to rehab the city’s rail spur in the North Industrial Park, which is used by Southwest Paper employees on a daily basis, says Allison Brantley, director of economic development at the Black Belt Regional Development Center.
The Sumter County Industrial Development Authority received a SEEDS grant to assist in its efforts to expand the Port of Epes Industrial Park. The grant will allow the group to conduct site assessments, including surveys, geotechnical reports, wetlands assessment and a Phase 1 study.
In addition, the city of Livingston received grants from the Alabama Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) Councils to assist in rehabbing the Livingston Courtyard, a downtown pocket park. A multi-purpose, central gathering place, the Livingston Courtyard “gives the downtown area an accessible, inclusive and vibrant public space for all to use,” Brantley says. “The city and Beautification Board are working to raise funds to complete the rehab.”
Also in downtown Livingston, the Black Belt Development Center has been renovated to include business incubator spaces, workforce and professional development trainings, economic and community development offices, and event and museum exhibit space.
Education is important in Sumter County, led by the University of West Alabama (UWA) in Livingston. In addition to higher education, the area is focused on preparing K-12 students with a strong foundation. UWA also is home to University Charter School (UCS), a PreK-12 public charter school founded by the university.
UCS recently opened a new Smith Campus facility that features classrooms, health science labs, fine arts spaces and athletic facilities. “This investment reflects both rising enrollment and strong regional demand, as the school has grown into a comprehensive, community-centered educational option serving roughly 730 students during the 2025-2026 school year, with enrollment growth anticipated next year,” says JJ Wedgworth, CEO of UCS. “Students now have access to robust opportunities such as dual enrollment classes as well as career pathways in areas like healthcare science, agriculture, education, marketing and computer science. These efforts are complemented by innovative, real-world learning experiences.”
In addition to providing a nationally recognized public education, UCS stands out “through its embedded partnership with the University of West Alabama, functioning not only as a high-performing school but also as a clinical training site for future educators and a key driver of educational and economic development in rural Alabama.”
Finally, the Sumter County School System has made significant progress in the past few years through targeted investments in facilities, academic improvement and workforce development, says Superintendent Marcy Burroughs. The district recently completed construction of the new Sumter Central Elementary School, which is scheduled to open for the 2026-2027 school year. The district’s overall report card score has risen, and college and career readiness is up to 75%.
With the new career technical education center underway through a partnership with Greene County Schools, the district is positioned to build an even stronger, better prepared workforce.
This article appears in the June 2026 issue of Business Alabama.
