ALDOT moves forward with Intracoastal bridge plans

Staff Report
Posted 9/7/22

GULF SHORES – Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said a decision by the Alabama Department of Transportation to go ahead with a new bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway will create another free route to the island and relieve traffic congestion and help accommodate continued growth

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ALDOT moves forward with Intracoastal bridge plans

Posted

GULF SHORES – Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said a decision by the Alabama Department of Transportation to go ahead with a new bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway will create another free route to the island and relieve traffic congestion and help accommodate continued growth

“While some try to make this a “Gulf Shores project” or a Gulf Shores versus Orange Beach debate, it is not,” Craft said in a statement. “This project was designed by ALDOT as their solution to traffic congestion on State Highway 59. The proposed bridge begins in Gulf Shores and lands in Orange Beach. The project has received overwhelming public support from local residents, tourism officials, hospital leaders, and elected officials, including Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon and me.”

Craft said he and Kennon have referred to the proposed route as “our bridge to the future,” and will also provide an additional hurricane evacuation route.

Craft said ALDOT rejected a proposal by the Baldwin Beach Express Bridge, which operates the toll bridge over the waterway at the southern end of the Baldwin Beach Express, to not build the new bridge if the company expanded services and provided toll-free passes for residents. The mayor said the proposal would have restricted new bridges over the waterway for 50 years.

“This 50-year restriction would remain regardless of future growth, traffic conditions, or any other justifiable need,” Craft said. “Proponents of the toll bridge company’s plan have focused on their proposal to provide Baldwin County residents toll-free passes. However, any deal that would allow a foreign bridge company to control access and dictate the expansion of transportation infrastructure in any part of Alabama is a bad deal.”