MOBILE, Alabama — The exit ramp connecting Interstate 10 to the Battleship Parkway causeway, closed since a fiery crash in late July, is a step closer to reopening after state transportation officials awarded a contract to repair the damage this week.
Ramp repair contract awarded
A spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Transportation said the agency awarded the repair contract this week, though more specific details on the timeline were still being finalized. The ramp has remained closed for weeks after the crash badly damaged the structure, forcing drivers headed toward the causeway to find alternate routes.
The closure was one of several traffic headaches around Mobile as the Labor Day holiday weekend brought increased traffic to area roads. Alabama State Troopers also confirmed that one of five deadly Labor Day weekend crashes across the state happened on a Mobile County road, when a driver was killed overnight on Theodore Dawes Road.
New roundabout construction underway
Elsewhere in Mobile County, construction began without incident this week on the county’s second roundabout, located at the intersection of Three Notch Road, Dawes Lane and Dawes Lane Extension. County officials said electronic message signs were installed ahead of time to warn drivers, and the project is expected to take about two months to complete.
Downtown, crews are wrapping up emergency sewer repair work on Royal Street between Dauphin and Conti streets that began two weeks earlier. The contractor patched the road temporarily so it could remain open through the holiday weekend.
A busy season for state road projects
State road crews have several other Mobile County projects moving at once, including resurfacing and safety widening on State Route 163, expected to wrap up in about 35 working days, and resurfacing and bridge work on I-10 between Halls Mill Creek and the George C. Wallace Tunnel that is expected to continue into next summer. Nighttime lane closures with minimal delays are expected on that stretch several nights a week. Interstate 65 work near Saraland is about 95 percent finished, while resurfacing on U.S. 90 between Halls Mill and Pine Hill Drive is just getting underway and should wrap up by December.
In Baldwin County, the connector between County Road 68 and the Baldwin Beach Express is roughly 90 percent complete, with occasional lane closures still possible on County Road 83. Resurfacing on Alabama 181 between U.S. 31 and U.S. 90 is underway at night and should finish by October. The Little Lagoon Pass bridge remains under construction as well, at roughly the halfway point, with a temporary detour bridge expected to stay in place through the end of the year.
State officials say they will continue to provide updates as the I-10 ramp repair timeline becomes clearer and as the various Mobile and Baldwin county projects progress toward completion.