The city of Hoover has secured $16 million in new federal funding to help pay for the planned Exit 9 interchange on Interstate 459 between the John Hawkins Parkway and Morgan Road exits, city officials announced this week. But to help get the project moving more quickly, the Hoover City Council in 2023 agreed to essentially split the cost. This new federal funding will reduce the cost burden for Hoover residents and substantially help offset the increase in project costs. The city’s cost exposure for Exit 9 is now lowered to about $56 million, roughly $5 million below the initial $61 million Hoover committed to the project in 2023, city officials said. The interchange will be constructed on I-459 near mile marker 9, between Exit 6, the Morgan Road exit, and Exit 10 at John Hawkins Parkway, immediately south of the South Shades Crest Road overpass.