West 4th St. Bridge & Windmill Rd. safety info meeting July 20 at G.S. City Hall

West 4th St. Bridge & Windmill Rd. safety info meeting July 20 at G.S. City Hall
The City of Gulf Shores will host a public information meeting on July 20 to discuss proposed solutions for the West Fourth Street bridge and recommended pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements along Windmill Ridge Road and surrounding areas on Wednesday, July 20 at 5:30 p.m. in the Gulf Shores City Council Chambers (1905 West 1st St.). After the presentation, attendees can ask questions and provide feedback on the project to City staff.
For additional info, contact the City Engineering Department at (251) 968-6583 or email macreman@gulfshoresal.gov.
Due to deteriorating conditions and public safety concerns, the canal bridge on West Fourth St. was closed to vehicular traffic.
In 2021, Gulf Shores hired Skipper Consulting, a transportation engineering firm, to complete a traffic study that evaluated the feasibility of constructing a new bridge on West Fourth St. and reopening it to vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. City Staff will present the findings of this study and recommendations provided by Skipper Consulting at the public information meeting.
In 2014, the city paid Lucido Engineering $26,500 to redesign the West Fourth Street Bridge and the same resolution accepted a grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation for the replacement of the bridge through the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program. It was later discovered the bridge was a few feet longer than eligibility requirements for receiving the grant and the plan was scuttled.
Since that time the bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic and the city has discussed rehabilitating the bridge for other public use including adding a pocket park in the area.
City spokesman Grant Brown said earlier this year that there are many options on the table and the public will be able to view the different options and add their input.
“The pedestrian access, of course, is important but if this is something that becomes a vehicular bridge again or not those are the type of things, we’ve got to take a look at and then gauge the public to have input,” Brown said.
“We don’t want the public to think that we’re moving forward one direction or the other without them having an opportunity to tell their side of the story.”