The Legislature hereby finds and declares as follows: A long-range program of highway development in Alabama (herein called "the state") is vital to the industrial and agricultural growth and to the present and future well-being of the citizens of the state; the highway system in the state must be adequate to meet such expanding needs; the highway construction, modification, maintenance, and administration to support such a system must include long-range planning, soundness in scope of the highway program, efficient performance, and fiscal responsibility in both policy and planning; the enactment of a long-range highway program will further the judicious expenditure of highway funds, will promote the public convenience and public safety, will enhance public confidence in the responsible expenditure of public funds, and will result in tangible benefits to the public by providing a sound program to facilitate vehicular traffic and safety; such a long-range program will establish continuity in highway construction, modification, and maintenance programs, thereby enabling the State of Alabama Department of Transportation (herein called "the Transportation Department") to operate at maximum efficiency with a greater return in highway benefits for the amount of public funds expended; all citizens and interested parties should be aware of how their highway dollars will be expended well in advance of such expenditures, and because changing of routes affect property values, all plans for such changes should be made known to all citizens simultaneously; such a long-range program requires advance consideration of priority of highway construction and modification projects and of adequate budgets for highway construction, modification, maintenance, and administration; and, to the foregoing ends, it is desirable to create a permanent joint transportation committee of the Legislature which will develop expertise pertaining to highway matters within both legislative bodies and which will insure geographical balance in highway decision making.

This article shall be liberally construed in order to effect the purposes.