Rodney Walker releases infrastructure plan

May 12, 2026 – LINEVILLE, Ala. – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Walker has released his plan to improve Alabama's infrastructure to improve trade and increase jobs in the state.

Walker says that he is on favor of six-laning I-65 to increase the flow of traffic from Mobile to Tennessee. He is also in favor of dredging the Alabama River to expand barge traffic in and out of the Port of Mobile. Walker also emphasized the importance of maintaining a healthy network of rural hospitals and modernizing Alabama's power grid.

Walker said that state's infrastructure has not kept pace with the industries, populations, and economic pressure that Alabama is now facing.

"Alabama is rich in resources, but we have to be honest about the demands ahead," Walker said in a statement. "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."

Walker said that widening I-65 to six lanes from Huntsville to Mobile is necessary because the highway is the state's primary north-south freight corridor.

"I-65 is the spine of Alabama's economy," Walker said. "If we don't widen it, we lose ground every year. This needs to be a federal priority for our state."

Walker has also called for dredging the Alabama River to remove sandbars and improve traffic to the Port of Mobile - one of the largest ports in the Gulf and a critical export corridor for Alabama industry.

"Mobile is the front door to the world for Alabama goods," Walker said. "We have to keep it open and competitive."

Walker outlined a rural hospital protection that is focused on federal payment reform, access for rural Alabamians, and stabilizing the rural health infrastructure on which many Alabama counties depend.

"Rural hospitals are not optional," Walker said. "They are the difference between a community that survives and one that doesn't."

Walker said Alabama's grid is facing rising electricity demand from data centers, advanced manufacturing, and population growth - and that the state's energy strategy has to match the moment.

Walker said that the state needs better federal and state engagement with a range of clean energy and grid-modernization companies whose work could support Alabama's reliability and competitiveness.

Walker says that he has met with VIVIFY Technology, a Florida-headquartered company developing hydrogen system designs, emissions-control technologies, and grid-modernization concepts.

"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 emphasized that no commercial agreement or Alabama project has been announced and that his comments reflect his campaign's policy direction. VIVIFY Technology has not endorsed Walker's campaign or any candidate in the Alabama Senate race.

Walker said that Alabama should be in active conversations with clean energy and grid-modernization companies across the country.

"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."

Walker said his platform - roads, ports, rural hospitals, grid - is built around what he calls the four foundations of Alabama's next decade.

"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 is a Clay County rancher who lives on a 2000 acre ranch with 750 mother cows. He is also a businessman who has built homes, owns a wholesale fuel company, Patriot Fueling Centers for motorists, and a rock quarry in Wedowee. Walker is also a helicopter pilot and sniper who has been a reserve deputy for two different counties over the years.

Walker is urging voters to participate in the Republican primary on May 19.

In 2022 Alabama had 3,638,986 registered voters. Of those only 23.37 percent participated in either the Republican or the Democratic primary elections that year. Of those 4.6% votes in the Democratic primary. No Democratic candidate has won a statewide race in a regularly scheduled Alabama election since the late Lucy Baxley in 2008. This left 646,740 Republican primary voters (representing just 17.8% of all registered voters) to decide who would ultimately win every statewide race.

"If voters want someone focused on practical infrastructure solutions for Alabama's future, I am asking them to vote for Rodney Walker on May 19," Walker said.

Rodney Walker is the founder of Walker Lands & Cattle, Patriot Fuels USA, Patriot Fueling Centers, Walker Construction Co., and Wedowee Quarry.

Walker faces a crowded Republican field that includes: former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson, Dr. Dales Deas, retired U.S. Navy submarine captain Seth Burton, Congressman Barry Moore, and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

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