First announced in 2018, Waterway Bridge is finally open to traffic

First announced in 2018, Waterway Bridge is finally open to traffic

The Alabama Department of Transportation announced that traffic is already flowing on the new southbound only $51.85 million, two-lane bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, and the new southbound lanes of the Hwy. 161 connector road north of the bridge will be open well before Memorial Weekend.
Soon to be one-way only northbound traffic on the Foley Beach Express Bridge will also flow well before Memorial Day Weekend. A roundabout at each end of the bridge will direct traffic onto and off the new roadway.
Funding for the new bridge was approved in 2018, but construction was temporarily halted in 2023 following a lawsuit filed by the Baldwin County Bridge Company. The Alabama Supreme Court allowed construction to resume, rejecting claims that the state acted in bad faith, in August of 2023.
In 2024, Alabama purchased the Foley Beach Express bridge and removed its toll booths in a $60 million transaction that included $3 million to help Orange Beach build a bypass from Canal Road to State Route 161 south of McDonald’s.
ALDOT also funded the additional traffic lane that was added to Canal Rd. between the two bridges during construction of the bridge.
Orange Beach recently hired Volkert Engineering to conduct a $55,899 study that will consider possible options to improve traffic flow over the current span of the Foley Beach Express Bridge and possibly add a second span over the Intracoastal Waterway adjacent to the current bridge.
According to ALDOT, the updated traffic pattern will include:
• Two lanes traveling southbound across the new Waterway Bridge.
• Two lanes traveling northbound across the Foley Beach Express Bridge.
• Roundabouts designed to keep traffic moving with fewer delays.