Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded grants totaling $780,483 to support efforts to make roads in a 15-county region in southwest Alabama safer by preventing injuries and fatalities.

The funds will support the Southwest Alabama Highway Safety Office which supports the efforts of local law enforcement agencies to provide increased traffic enforcement, checkpoints and saturation patrols during busy travel periods such as the upcoming Labor Day weekend. The extra enforcement will cover impaired driving and excessive speed “Hotspots” as identified by the University of Alabama’s Center for Advanced Public Safety. Funds will also be used to cover overtime for officers during the national “Click It or Ticket” and “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaigns and for educational materials related to seatbelt safety.”

The counties covered by the Southwest Alabama Highway Safety Office are Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Escambia, Greene, Hale, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, Perry, Sumter, Washington and Wilcox.

ADECA manages a wide array of programs that support law enforcement and traffic safety, workforce development, energy conservation, water resource management, economic development and recreation.