Officials with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) said the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project is moving forward with support from federal, state and local partners.
ALDOT joined the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization to announce a revised plan for the project that will see construction begin before the end of this year, pending federal approvals for a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan. The revised project plan preserves the primary goal of increasing the capacity of the bridge over Mobile Bay while reducing costs through a phased construction strategy.
“This project is essential to Alabama’s future and represents one of the most important infrastructure investments in our state’s history,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. “This transformative project will strengthen our economy, improve safety and ensure we are better prepared in times of emergency.”
The new plan will allow ALDOT to use a two-phase strategy that will keep the project financially viable, while delivering meaningful traffic improvement. Phase One of the project will include construction of a new six-lane cable-stayed bridge, restriping the existing Bayway to provide six lanes of traffic across Mobile Bay and making improvement to major interchanges, intersections and traffic flow.
Officials said Phase Two will include the construction of a new Bayway structure as additional funding becomes available, with some future revenue coming from toll revenue. Increases in construction costs since the project was first developed forced the changes, officials said. Updated engineering analysis found that constructing an entirely new Bayway at the same time as the bridge would push the project’s costs beyond a financially sustainable level. The new phased approach allows construction to move forward while maintaining the project’s long-term vision. Phase One of the project is estimated to cost around $3.2 billion.