U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne told a Mobile business audience this week that a federal revenue-sharing program tied to Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production could become a significant funding source for the long-discussed Interstate 10 Bridge and Bayway expansion project.
Speaking to roughly 170 people at a Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Battle House Renaissance hotel, Byrne, a Republican from Fairhope, said money flowing to Alabama through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, commonly known as GOMESA, could be directed toward the estimated $850 million bridge and bayway project.
Under the federal law, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas receive a share of revenue generated by offshore oil and gas leasing as compensation for the environmental impact of that activity along their coastlines. In Alabama, the money is restricted to projects in Mobile and Baldwin counties and is intended for coastal restoration, conservation and hurricane protection work.
Byrne argued that the bridge project fits within those allowed uses because it would double as a hurricane evacuation route for the two counties. “As someone who lives in Mobile and Baldwin counties, I don’t know of a bigger priority for these two counties than to get this bridge built,” he told the chamber crowd.
The GOMESA funding is separate from money Alabama expects to receive under the RESTORE Act, which channels a portion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement back to Gulf Coast states. Byrne noted that settlement money is likely to be reserved largely for environmental mitigation efforts, while GOMESA dollars could be freed up for infrastructure like the bridge.
State transportation officials are separately studying whether tolls could help finance the new span across Mobile Bay, a prospect that has drawn criticism from residents and business leaders wary of adding a toll to daily commutes. Mike Lee, who chairs the chamber’s bridge-building coalition, said a mix of funding sources, including bonding, tolling and GOMESA revenue, will likely be needed to get the project built.
Not everyone welcomed the idea of redirecting GOMESA money toward a highway project. Environmental advocates who have pushed to use coastal restoration funds for conservation work raised concerns that tapping GOMESA for the bridge could come at the expense of habitat and water quality projects along the Alabama coast. Byrne acknowledged the tension, saying that setting priorities for the money ultimately requires trade-offs.
Alabama is expected to begin receiving its share of GOMESA revenue in 2017, giving state and local officials a few years to decide how the money will be allocated between infrastructure and environmental priorities in Mobile and Baldwin counties.
The I-10 Bridge and Bayway project has been discussed for years as a way to relieve chronic congestion on the current bridge and causeway, particularly during peak commuting hours and storm evacuations, and remains a top infrastructure priority for business leaders across the region.