State transportation officials outlined a detailed set of bicycle and pedestrian requirements this week for the proposed Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, giving local advisory committees their clearest look yet at how walkers and cyclists could eventually cross the Mobile River and Bayway alongside vehicle traffic.
The Alabama Department of Transportation briefed members of the Mobile and Eastern Shore bicycle and pedestrian advisory committees on the requirements that any development team must meet, or at least study, before the massive bridge and highway project can move forward. The presentation followed more than a year of public input gathered through workshops and focus groups held in 2016 and 2017.
That earlier outreach found strong public support for adding bike and pedestrian facilities directly to the Mobile River Bridge itself, with residents citing the views of Mobile Bay and the potential to draw tourists as the biggest draws. A second option, improving the existing route across the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge, also drew significant backing, in part because it would connect to bike routes that already exist or are planned in nearby communities. A third possibility, a permanent path along the Bankhead Tunnel corridor, proved least popular for everyday use, though recreational cyclists said they valued it on weekends.
Under the framework ALDOT presented, teams competing to design, build, finance, maintain and operate the bridge and Bayway will be required to include certain bicycle and pedestrian elements in their proposals. Those mandatory elements include upgrading the existing route along the Cochrane-Africatown corridor, from Interstate 165 and Bay Bridge Road to the east side of the bridge, and building an observation deck with an elevator and stairs on the west side of the Mobile River.
Beyond those required features, ALDOT is asking competing teams to study whether several additional options are technically and financially feasible. Those include a bicycle and pedestrian path running the full length of the new Mobile River Bridge, an extension of the Cochrane-Africatown route along Interstate 165 to Beauregard Street using a protected path carved out of the highway shoulder, and a further extension along U.S. 98 to Battleship Park.
ALDOT also confirmed it plans to continue closing the Bankhead Tunnel to vehicle traffic on weekends so it can be used by pedestrians and cyclists, a seasonal practice that will remain in place as long as community interest continues.
The bridge and Bayway project remains in its environmental review phase, during which ALDOT is working to complete the federally required National Environmental Policy Act process. That process includes additional opportunities for public input before it wraps up. Once it concludes, the Federal Highway Administration will issue a formal Record of Decision, clearing the way for ALDOT to select the private development team, known as the concessionaire, that will design, build, finance, maintain and operate the project under a public-private partnership.
Officials said a broader public meeting on the project is planned for fall 2018, where residents will be able to review environmental findings, ask questions about the public-private partnership structure, and learn more about funding, tolling and construction scheduling.
The Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project calls for a new six-lane bridge across the Mobile River to add capacity to Interstate 10, along with a rebuilt eight-lane Bayway raised above the elevation of a 100-year storm surge. The current four-lane Bayway and the Wallace Tunnel, which carries an average of 75,000 vehicles a day and up to 100,000 during peak tourist season, were built to handle far less traffic than they now carry. ALDOT has said the project is intended to cut travel times between Mobile and the Eastern Shore communities of Spanish Fort and Daphne, improve reliability for commuters heading to jobs, schools, hospitals and recreation, and give trucks carrying hazardous materials a route around downtown Mobile.