SPANISH FORT, Ala. - Construction of the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort may begin within two months now that the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs approved a $7,015,564 grant for the project Wednesday.

“The last hurdle in an effort to provide suitable grounds for the burial of South Alabama veterans has finally been cleared with approval of this federal grant,” Congressman Jo Bonner said in a press release. “After receiving a federal commitment, state legislation was passed and signed into law approving an Alabama veterans cemetery in Spanish Fort which would be constructed by the federal government and maintained by the state.”

With the approval of the grant, construction can begin on what will be Alabama’s first state veterans cemetery. South Alabama veterans have not had local access to a final resting place since the closure of Mobile’s National Veterans Cemetery nearly 50 years ago.

In 2006, the Baldwin County Commission acquired a 100-acre parcel off State Highway 225 for use as a possible national cemetery. The VA’s guidelines about national cemeteries excluded sites like the one in Spanish Fort, however, and in 2009 the state legislature voted to construct a state cemetery on the site. Bill Callendar, the cemetery committee chairman for the South Alabama Veterans Council, said the grant was wonderful news and has been a long time coming.

“$7 million will help finance this facility for the next 10 years,” Callendar said. “The closest national cemeteries to this area have been NAS Pensacola and Biloxi National Cemetery, so having one in this area is going to really, really help families.”

The property is 4.5 miles north of Spanish Fort, adjacent to Saluda Hill Cemetery near the entrance to Blakeley State Park. It will have the same standards and protocols as a national cemetery, Callendar said.

Site plans and architectural renderings were completed earlier this year by Walcott, Adams, Verneuille Architects of Fairhope and include an administration building, committal shelter, access road and memorial walk. The South Alabama Veterans Council estimated the cemetery would host around 200 burials each year.