GULF SHORES — The West 4th Street bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since 2008, but after "a fair amount of correspondence" from nearby residents, it is set to be re-opened to pedestrians by the end of this year.

At their March 23 meeting, Gulf Shores City Council unanimously approved a contract with Jade Consulting for the design of the bridge in an amount not to exceed $44,900.

Councilman Jason Dyken said the city initially planned to rebuild the bridge for vehicular and pedestrian traffic but kept running into issues. After working with their traffic consultant, who deemed it not a major thoroughfare necessary for vehicular travel, the city started looking at a pedestrian-only design.

"This bridge has been on the priority list for quite some time," Dyken said.

According to Clint Colvin, who presented the agreement before council, and GCM reporting from 2022, residents in the area have long supported a pedestrian-only option as vehicular traffic raised financial, traffic and safety concerns.

A 2022 GCM article quoted then-city engineer Marc Acreman saying the project, which was to hold vehicular and pedestrian traffic, was expected to cost about $3 million and take two years to build.

This year, the city has a total of $400,000 budgeted for the bridge replacement project.

Colvin said the design is to be completed by May so the project can go to bid as quickly as possible, allowing construction to start and wrap up by the end of the year.

Dyken said he would like to see a "punching-out" section added to the bridge for people to relax or fish, giving it a "park-like aesthetic."

Councilwoman Jennifer Guthrie confirmed with Colvin that — even though golf carts are not permitted in the area currently — the bridge will be wide enough and strong enough to support them.

This project is part of the city's multimodal and pedestrian plan within the neighborhood, Colvin said. Gulf Shores aims to add sidewalks throughout the area, tying them to existing sidewalks on streets like Windmill Ridge and 1st Avenue.

"This is still a piece of that puzzle, and we would just have to do the connections in future projects," he said.

He said the city is still consistently applying for grant funding for projects like the 4th Street Bridge.