The City of Gulf Shores announced the lowest bidder of a contract for the construction of a detour needed in conjunction with the anticipated pedestrian bridge being built across the intracoastal.

According to the proposed documents, the engineering department is recommending that the city awards the contract to Asphalt Services Inc. for a total of approximately $1,792,077.

The project will include streetscape improvements to the existing roadways of E. 2nd St., E. 22nd. Ave., E. 3rd St. and E. 24th Avenue that are required as a part of the construction of the anticipated Waterway Village Pedestrian Bridge, projected to complete in fall 2026.

The bridge is set to be built over the intracoastal at Waterway Village at the intersection of East Canal Road and East Second Street near Tacky Jacks and Big Beach Brewing and will connect the north and south sides of the Waterway District through newly constructed pedestrian pathways spanning from the new Medical Village area to East 20th Avenue.

However, in July 2023 community update meeting Mayor Robert Craft announced that traffic would need to be rerouted due to the construction of the future bridge.

At the meeting, Craft presented a plan to reroute traffic from Canal Road through the Gulf Pines neighborhood to accommodate the construction.

About the project:
As Gulf Shores began the Highway 59 widening project to add a third southbound lane across the W.C. Holmes Bridge, it became evident that pedestrian access would inevitably be impacted.
In July, former City Engineer Mark Acreman said the widening would begin from Fort Morgan Road to Target, from Target to County Road 6 and County Road 6 to County Road 8.

The project is projected to cost the city approximately $17 million. However, Acreman said that $6.5 million of the total cost is funded through the BUILD grant, while $4 million is funded through the ATRIP 2 grant, bringing the cost to the city to $6.5 million.

The new pedestrian bridge will include lanes wide enough for both pedestrians and bicyclists, and elevators on each side of the bridge that will be wide enough for bicycles and emergency personnel to travel with their equipment if necessary.

"The bridge will be 14 feet wide, so wide enough to accommodate both pedestrians and bicycles," Acreman said.. "There will not be a marked bike lane, but bikers can be on the pedestrian lane."

This topic is scheduled to be further discussed at the next city council work session meeting, on Jan. 16 at 4 p.m., and is open to the public.

While work session meetings typically take place on Mondays, this meeting was rescheduled to Tuesday, Jan. 16 due to the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, Jan. 15.