Land swap will expediate eventual Canal Rd. to Hwy. 59 bypass

Land swap will expediate eventual Canal Rd. to Hwy. 59 bypass

By Fran Thompson

Gulf Shores City Council officially approved a major land swap with Gulf State Park to transfer 54 acres of undeveloped municipal land to the state in exchange for 30 acres of park land that the city will use to help FDOT establish a bypass route to Hwy. 59 that will reduce through traffic in the Gulf Pines neighborhood.
The exchange has been part of the city’s transportation plan since a 2023 corridor study identified a future east-west connection from Canal Rd. through Gulf State Park.
Traffic going west on Canal Rd. currently detours on 2nd Ave. and proceeds past Meyer Park to East 22nd Ave.
The land exchange process included extensive environmental reviews because of the Gulf State Park land, according to Dan Bond, the city’s Director of Natural Resources.
“All that work has been completed, and so we are ready to record the deeds and make the property transfer,” Bond said.
There is no timeline set for building the new road, but the city’s land purchase will be one less step ALDOT will have to take before building the connector road between Hwy. 59 and Canal Rd. that bypasses Gulf Shores’ oldest neighborhood.
“This is a long way off, but now we have something for the future,” said Mayor Robert Craft.
The opening of the Intracoastal Waterway bridge has led to increased traffic flow on Canal Rd. But the city’s decision to build a community plaza at the pedestrian Intracostal Waterway Bridge on 1st St. is why traffic is being diverted to East 2nd St.
Pictured: The recent land swap between Gulf State Park and Gulf Shores will make it easier for ALDOT to have thru-traffic bypass Gulf Pines neighborhood just east of East 10th St. on Canal Rd. to East 2nd St. and Hwy. 59.