The Mobile County Commission put its collective weight behind one of the region’s most consequential infrastructure proposals, issuing a joint statement in support of a new Interstate 10 bridge over the Mobile River.
In the statement, signed by all three commissioners, the county framed the long-discussed crossing as essential to public safety and to the continued growth of the Mobile-area economy. The commission described the project as a “vital commerce link” and urged the state and competing interests to set aside their differences so the Alabama Department of Transportation could move forward.
A crossing years in the making
The proposed span carried an estimated price tag of between $700 million and $1 billion, the commission noted, with a $500 million allocation already identified for the work. Commissioners argued that a modern bridge would ease congestion, reduce delays and, they hoped, cut the number of accidents along one of the busiest stretches of interstate on the Gulf Coast.
“Soon the Alabama Department of Transportation will be making a decision on the construction of a new bridge over the Mobile River,” the commission said. “This long-awaited project will provide a safe route of travel for our citizens.”
Route dispute
The commission acknowledged that the decision over the bridge’s route had grown contentious. On one side stood advocates focused on aesthetics and the look of the waterfront; on the other, ALDOT and those who favored the alignment engineers considered best suited to a growing city’s infrastructure needs.
Rather than take a hard line, the commissioners appealed for cooperation. “We need to take advantage of this $500 million allocation and work together to resolve these concerns,” the statement read, “so that ALDOT may continue its work to make the roads of Alabama safe for travel and commerce.”
Lessons from Highway 98
To make its case, the commission pointed to its recent work with state highway officials on U.S. Highway 98, a project it said had resolved a problem three decades in the making and one that had cost too many lives. The county credited the leadership of ALDOT staff, including Joe McGinnis, Don Vaughan and Ronnie Poiroux, for choosing to keep the money in the area and to work constructively with both supporters and opponents until the Highway 98 improvements were under construction.
The commissioners said they hoped the same spirit could carry the I-10 bridge to completion. “It would have been easy for ALDOT to pick up and take these valuable dollars and place them somewhere else in the state; but they did not,” the statement said.
Growth on the horizon
The county tied the urgency of the project to the industrial expansion reshaping the region, citing a new container facility and the growth of Brookley Field among the developments driving traffic across the river. “As Mobile continues to grow with industry,” the commission said, “it is time to move forward with this project.”
The statement closed on a note of partnership, with the commissioners pledging to continue working with ALDOT. “The county commission has worked constructively with ALDOT over the past few years and they have been the most productive years yet,” the commissioners wrote. “We look forward to continuing to work with ALDOT to make this project a reality.”