Have you noticed those orange cones lining Highway 59 north of the bridge?

Construction officially began last week for the city of Gulf Shores' project to add a third southbound lane heading onto the island. The project, which was announced in July 2023, will begin at the Target in Gulf Shores and will continue down to Fort Morgan Road.

Additionally, the project will include Highway 59 access management, intersection improvements and a new entrance and access management to the Publix on Cotton Creek Drive.

"We will be adding a direct right turn into Publix and a signal on the backside," said now former City Engineer Mark Acreman at a July 2023 meeting. "We will also be adding channels into the intersection, similar to what you see in Foley at Buffalo Wild Wings or Culvers. These will be channels that help you get into the left turn."

Acreman said these projects should also help traffic lights work more accurately and are funded through lodging taxes, provided by visitors who generate the traffic.

"This time of year (in the summer), we see 55,000 to 65,000 cars going over the bridge every day, but the road widening should help with that by providing more capacity on 59, making the signals work better," Acreman said. "There is no way to sugarcoat it: you won't see that traffic lift until August. Last year, we had a total of 16.8 million cars going over the bridge."

Acreman said construction on the widening projects are expected to last to July 2026, costing a total of $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.