Spanish Fort’s Valor Park Construction Back Underway After Grading Fix Solves Drainage Problems on Battleship Parkway

SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Crews are back at work on Spanish Fort’s Valor Park on Battleship Parkway after construction stalled for months over grading problems that left water pooling on the site.

City leaders say the problem has been fixed and that they are hopeful the park will open sometime next month.

Spanish Fort broke ground on Valor Park in February and had hoped to open it in September. During construction, city inspectors noticed that rainwater, and sometimes water from high tides, was collecting on the property instead of draining away, a sign that the ground had not been graded properly.

Problem spotted during routine inspections

Spanish Fort Mayor Brad Bass said city staff members caught the issue during regular visits to the site.

“We were able to catch it. Some of our team that was there doing site visits on a weekly basis would notice it after just a small shower or even sometimes at high tide,” Bass said.

Grading is the process of shaping the ground so that water flows where it is supposed to, usually toward drains, swales or other outlets. On a waterfront site along Battleship Parkway, where land sits close to the level of Mobile Bay and the Delta, even small mistakes in grading can leave standing water after a modest rain or a higher-than-usual tide.

Sidewalks torn out to correct the slope

Work stopped while the project’s engineering design firm and general contractor met with the city to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. As part of the repair, some sidewalks on the south side of the 2.5-acre property were torn out so crews could regrade the land and allow water to drain properly.

Bass said reaching a solution took time.

“It took several meetings over several weeks with the engineering firm and also the general contractor to make sure that it had been built as designed. We were able to come to an understanding to make sure that it’s taken care of and it’s done, so we’re not coming back six months from now and making big changes or closing the park to have any remediation done at that point,” Bass said.

The mayor’s comments reflect a common concern on public construction projects: problems that are not fully fixed during construction can be more expensive and disruptive to repair after a facility opens to the public.

No tax dollars for the fix

Bass said the park, a project costing more than $3 million, is being paid for with a GOMESA grant. GOMESA refers to the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, a federal law that shares a portion of revenue from offshore oil and gas leases with Gulf Coast states, including Alabama, and their coastal communities. The money is generally directed to coastal conservation, restoration, protection and related projects.

Contingency money built into the project budget covers unexpected issues like the grading problem, Bass said, so no local tax dollars will be used to pay for the repair.

Contingency funds are a standard part of construction budgets. They set aside a percentage of a project’s cost for problems that cannot be predicted when a contract is signed, such as unexpected site conditions, design changes or repairs.

A gateway along the Causeway

Valor Park sits along Battleship Parkway, the scenic route also known as the Causeway, which links the Eastern Shore with Mobile across the upper end of Mobile Bay. The corridor is known for its seafood restaurants, bait shops, boat launches and views of the bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, and it draws residents and visitors alike.

The park is expected to add to Spanish Fort’s public recreation spaces along the water. The city has not announced a specific opening date or a schedule for a ribbon cutting.

What happens next

With the drainage repairs under way, the city’s focus is on finishing the remaining work so the park can open. City leaders say they hope that will happen sometime in November, though the final timing will depend on construction progress and weather.

Key facts

• Project: Valor Park on Battleship Parkway in Spanish Fort
• Size: About 2.5 acres
• Cost: More than $3 million, funded by a GOMESA grant
• Groundbreaking: February 2026
• Original target opening: September 2026
• Problem: Improper grading caused rainwater and high-tide water to pool on the site
• Fix: Sidewalks on the south side removed and the land regraded; covered by project contingency funds
• New target: City leaders hope to open the park in November