A $3.5 billion effort to build a new route across Mobile Bay in Alabama has gotten a much-needed shot in the arm with a $550 million federal grant.
Announcing the discretionary grant from the U.S. Transportation Bridge Investment Program, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in an announcement that the grant, the largest ever for a project in Alabama, marks a milestone important in the decades-long effort to build a new Interstate 10 and Bayway Bridge connecting the city of Mobile and the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, now dubbed the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project.
Part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the Bridge Investment Program is a competitive, discretionary program that focuses on existing bridges to reduce the total number of bridges in poor condition or in good condition with the risk of falling into bad conditions.
In his announcement, Ivey calls the grant “a game changer,” saying, “This is exactly how our infrastructure money should be spent.”
Ed Austin, chief engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), says the funding will move the project forward and puts the state in a position to break ground on the project as early as next year, saying, “To say that we are grateful that our federal partners recognize that the national importance of the project is an understatement.”
(MPO), says the project’s benefits will extend along the entire I-10 corridor from Florida to California.
“Hallelujah! It’s hard to overstate the importance of today’s announcement to the future of Mobile,” he said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson in the ad. Stimpson, who also chairs the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization, added: “This funding is a monumental boost for the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project and we are moving full steam ahead.”
ENR reported on the project in September 2022, when ALDOT added the project back to its Transportation Improvement Plan after a two-year hiatus due to discussions about toll pricing and other issues.
Plans call for a six-lane cable-stayed bridge with 215 feet of clearance from the Mobile River Navigation Channel, along with the seven-mile Bayway, a new roadway that includes two two-lane bridges, two three-lane bridges and the related reconfiguration of seven exchangers.
According to the project plans, ALDOT aims to increase the capacity of I-10 to meet current and future traffic volumes while minimizing impacts on the area’s maritime industry and providing a more direct route for vehicles carrying materials dangerous across the river. Currently, these vehicles must turn off I-10 and travel through the city’s central business district.
The main bridge is expected to span the 600-foot navigation channel with a 2,550-foot main span structure served by high-level approach spans on either side, designed with a minimum service life of 100 years and to withstand the collision of the ship.
ENR has previously reported that the state intends to seek funding from federal programs and other sources to supplement toll revenue, including a $125 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America discretionary grant that the state has already awarded and $250 million in state funds. ALDOT also plans to use $1.1 billion from a Federal Transportation Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Act (TIFIA) loan and $1.2 billion in senior financing, which will be repaid through toll revenue.
The Bridge Investment Program funding comes after news in April that inflation had pushed the project’s cost estimates up by roughly $800 million, from $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion, a development that took the project team on hiatus for 60 days while it reviewed cost savings. measures
During that time, according to a June update from ALDOT, local authorities, including the Eastern Shore and Mobile MPOs, said they had visited representatives in Washington, D.C., to get support for federal funding as they sought cost-saving measures of costs with the ALDOT design. build teams
Based on those meetings, the update says, the US DOT asked ALDOT to begin the application process for the TIFIA loan, for which the state transportation agency plans to apply for the maximum allowable amount of 49% of the project cost. Austin says in the announcement that ALDOT is finalizing its TIFIA loan process.
“We are committed to this project and will continue to do everything we can to ensure its success,” says the joint statement from ALDOT and the two regional MPOs. “Project costs of between $3 billion and $3.5 billion are nearly double ALDOT’s annual budget.”
The statement added that aside from the inflation-driven funding gap, the project is essentially shovel-ready as all rights-of-way have been acquired, necessary federal approvals secured and has started the federal loan process.
“At the end of the day, we need the federal government to continue to work with us to recognize the national importance of this project and join us in making it a reality,” the statement said.
