Mobile plans record $17 million in road repaving, other infrastructure for 2026

By Brendan Kirby

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Motorists could find their ride through the city getting a little smoother in the new year.

The city plans to spend a record $17 million on road resurfacing and other projects. It is money that is part of Mobile’s Capital Improvement Program budget, which is funded by a 1 percent city sales tax.

“When it comes to roads, the best is yet to come,” Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The city develops a list of priorities, based on engineering studies assessing the conditions of streets and input from council members. In even years, money goes toward repaving streets and other infrastructure, like parks and drainage improvements. During odd-numbered years, the city focuses on sidewalks.

Cheriogotis says he wants Mobile to do big things. But first, he said, the city must get the small things right. And road paving is at the top of the list.

The mayor says he’s particularly happy that work is finishing up on a project that was on the 2024 list. That’s a stretch of Old Government Street that meets the eastern side of Airport Boulevard.

“If you’ve ever driven over those railroad tracks through, you know – I used to have a car wash that was right there that I used regularly,” he said after Tuesday’s meeting. “I think it’s the roughest stretch of road in the entire city. You had concrete. You had multiple materials, asphalt, holes, patches. And it was like being on a, you know, in a bumper car at an amusement park driving through there.”

The City Council will vote soon to award contracts for the 2026 projects. The mayor said the administration also will be having meetings soon to put together a list of projects for 2028 and 2030.

Read more: Mobile plans record $17 million in road repaving, other infrastructure for 2026

HUD Review Flags $5.8B in Potentially Improper Rental Aid Payments

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says it identified about $5.8 billion in federal rental assistance payments in fiscal year 2024 that went to recipients flagged as potentially ineligible, including tens of thousands of tenants listed as deceased, according to a newly released internal financial review.

The 183-page review examined nearly $50 billion in rental assistance distributed through two of HUD's largest housing support streams: tenant-based rental assistance, which includes Housing Choice Vouchers that help eligible households rent in the private market, and project-based rental assistance, which is tied to specific subsidized developments.

HUD officials said the potentially improper payments were spread across all 50 states, with the largest concentrations in New York, California, and Washington, D.C. The review flagged more than 200,000 tenants for possible eligibility issues.

Among those, about 29,700 tenants were listed as deceased, about 9,400 were identified as possible noncitizens and more than 165,000 appeared to have household incomes above eligibility thresholds for their areas, according to the report summary described by HUD.

The figures reflect preliminary flags that require additional confirmation, HUD officials said.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the findings point to broad weaknesses in oversight and internal controls, and the department plans additional reviews and enforcement steps.

"HUD will continue investigating the shocking results and will take appropriate action to hold bad actors accountable," Turner said in a statement.

HUD said the questionable payments stemmed in part from directives to move large sums quickly with limited oversight and from heavy reliance on local public housing authorities, landlords, and contractors to verify tenant eligibility.

Under the voucher program, local housing agencies typically administer assistance and certify eligibility, while project-based subsidies are paid to property owners under contracts that require compliance with federal rules.

The review covered roughly $33 billion in tenant-based assistance for more than 4 million households and about $16 billion in project-based assistance.

HUD said about $1.5 billion in tenant-based payments and $4.3 billion in project-based payments showed potential eligibility problems.

The new review follows earlier audits and evaluations by HUD's Office of Inspector General that have criticized aspects of the department's fraud risk management and internal controls, particularly after large infusions of emergency housing funds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those watchdog reports have urged HUD to strengthen how it identifies fraud risks and documents controls across major programs.

HUD said it is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security to further review cases involving possible noncitizen recipients.

Officials also said the department could revoke or pause certain funding streams and make criminal referrals when warranted, once questionable cases are confirmed.

Former HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge and former acting Secretary Adrianne Todman did not immediately respond to requests for comment described in media accounts.

HUD Review Flags $5.8B in Potentially Improper Rental Aid Payments | Newsmax.com