MADISON, Ala. (WHNT)- Officials with the city of Madison say a new fire station and police substation are on the way to Town Madison.

Leaders with the Madison Police Department and Madison Fire and Rescue say the new facility will greatly reduce response times for first responders in the city.

The 38,000-square-foot facility will be situated on the south side of Madison, and house the city’s first police substation and fourth fire station.

Madison Mayor Paul Finley says the city got the funding for the facility from the American Rescue Plan money allocated by the state, and it will cost between $7 and $8 million dollars. That funding will also pay for the city to furnish the building.

The mayor says that this is another step in the city’s commitment to safety.

“I think anybody who’s watched our city council meeting recognizes our city council was adamant, and with Town Madison and listening to our fire department, we wanted to put our money where our mouth was in keeping people safe, and they said we need a fire station in Town Madison. The neat thing is we got ahead of the game as Madison grows, this is a wonderful investment for our city,” said Mayor Finley.

The new substation will help the response times in South Madison decrease to approximately two minutes. The fire department says the COVID-19 Pandemic split one of its stations, which is when they began to truly understand the growing needs of the south side of the city.

“It’s something we’ve needed for a while. COVID split up Station One, so we have a temporary Station Four, but it’s not optimal. Once we split up, we realized our response times were quicker because we’re on the south end of town with Station Four, so we’ve been in the market for a couple of years trying to find a right location,” Dan Pickens, Madison Fire & Rescue’s Public Information Officer, said.

The new location should be ready in 18 months. The city says the change will help homeowners in the growing area with ISO insurance rates, as public safety response times will reduce drastically.

City leaders say the police substation will be the first completed part of the new facility so that the department can move officers in as early as possible. Upgrades for the fire station will have it fully operational at the end of the 18-month construction.