Feds will kick in another $550 million for Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge
Feds will kick in another $550 million for Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge
Interstate 10 bottle-neck traffic jams, especially on Saturdays during the summer tourist season, at the George Wallace Tunnel in Mobile were an issue even before the first feasibility study to build a bridge over the Mobile River was completed in 1997.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation made the proposed project a reality earlier this month by awarding a $550 million grant from its Bridge Investment Program towards the bridge and bayway project.
With a price tag estimated at $3.5 billion, it will be the state’s most expensive road project ever. Plans include the a new six-lane bridge across the Mobile River in downtown Mobile and a 7.4 mile elevated six-lane road across Mobile Bay. The Bankhead and George Wallace tunnels under the river will remain in place.
The $550 million grant is one of the largest federal grants ever received for an Alabama project, according to Governor Kay Ivey. A $125 million federal grant for the project was secured through former Sen. Richard Shelby in 2019.
Alabama has pledged $250 million in funding and currently plans to assess a toll for the new bridged and bayway. The remainder of the project’s funding will be secured through DOT loans.
“This federal funding will be a game-changer, not just for Mobile and Baldwin counties, but for our entire state and region,” Ivey said.
Work should begin on the new bridge early next year, as the state already owns the rights-of-way involved and has secured environmental permits.
Interstate 10 runs from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, spanning 2,460 miles across eight states. Roughly 66 miles of I-10 runs through Mobile and Baldwin counties.
ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris previously said in June that the department is resolved not to raise the price of the tolls that will be in place once the bridge and Bayway open to cover construction costs. The tolls will be in place until the project’s debt is repaid. Passenger vehicles can expect to pay up to $2.50 and trucks can expect tolls of up to $18.