Alabama businessman and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Walker recently unveiled a new infrastructure platform including proposals to widen I-65, dredge the Alabama River, protect rural hospitals, and enhance the state’s energy grid.
In announcing the platform, Walker argued that Alabama requires significant infrastructure investment to keep pace with continued economic development and population growth.
“Alabama is rich in resources, but we have to be honest about the demands ahead,” Walker said. “Our roads are crowded, our ports are constrained, our rural hospitals are closing, and our grid is being strained. If we want Alabama to lead the Southeast in the next decade, we have to be willing to build for it.”
Concerning Alabama’s roadways, Walker is joining the calls for widening I-65–a proposal spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth that would expand the major north–south interstate carrying heavy traffic through Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile.
“I-65 is the spine of Alabama’s economy,” said Walker. “If we don’t widen it, we lose ground every year. This needs to be a federal priority for our state.”
Similarly, Walker is also advocating for dredging the Alabama River to increase waterway traffic to the Port of Mobile.
“Mobile is the front door to the world for Alabama goods,” Walker said. “We have to keep it open and competitive.”
Walker also indicated his desire to protect Alabama’s rural hospitals with a “focus aimed at federal payment reform, access for rural Alabamians, and stabilizing the rural health infrastructure on which many Alabama counties depend.”
Walker’s campaign did not immediately respond to APR’s request for comment on what specific policies Walker would pursue to bolster Alabama’s rural healthcare system.
Of the infrastructure projects outlined in Walker’s platform, his proposal to modernize Alabama’s energy grid is perhaps the most comprehensive.
With increasing energy demands in the state–including from proposed AI data centers–Walker is advocating for the formation of public-private partnerships with clean energy and grid-modernization companies to update Alabama’s grid. Among those potential partners is VIVIFY Technology, a Florida-based company focused on limiting carbon emissions from coal-fired, diesel, and natural gas power plants.
“I’ve been engaged with the team at VIVIFY because they are working on the kind of practical, infrastructure-focused thinking Alabama needs to take seriously,” Walker said. “Their work fits the way I think about energy — meet the demand, modernize the grid, and build for the long term.”
Walker clarified that VIVIFY has not endorsed his campaign nor has any commercial agreement been reached for any potential project in Alabama. VIVIFY does not appear on Walker’s campaign finance records.
“This is not about one company,” Walker said. “It is about whether Alabama is at the table when these conversations are happening. We need to be there.”
According to Walker, his infrastructure platform is just one part of a larger push to provide practical solutions to problems facing Alabamians.
“I’m a solutions man,” Walker said. “This campaign is not about rhetoric. It is about solving real problems for the people of Alabama. We need infrastructure that can support growth and protect opportunity for the long haul.”
Walker will face off against Alabama AG Steve Marshall, U.S. Rep. Barry Moore and former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate on May 19.
