Plans for a permanent bypass around a Gulf Shores neighborhood also contain a temporary bypass before the final roadway is completed.

Both plans are still likely a few years out, officials said at an Oct. 12 regular city council meeting. During the meeting, council members agreed to pay Sawgrass Consulting $39,500 for surveying along the proposed permanent bypass route, and the temporary route was also detailed.

First, Community Development Director and Assistant City Administrator Lee Jones said the state must get a commitment from the Alabama Department of Transportation on the permanent bypass.

“We have completed a 30% set of drawings for a short-term reroute from East 20th Avenue to East 10th Street,” Jones said. “We plan to finalize those plans once we reach an agreement on roadway construction with the new ALDOT Director.”

Alabama will elect a new governor on Nov. 3, and he is expected to name a new transportation department head.

The temporary bypass would start at East 10th Street straight south from Canal. From the current end of East 10th Street, the roadway would be extended to line up with the east-west extension of East 20th Avenue, also called Dolphin Avenue. The routes south of East 10th and east of East 20th are both currently undeveloped. It would become part of the permanent bypass whenever it is built.

“This way, we can construct new construction on less property as long as we got the land from (Gulf State Park), and we would impact far fewer residents in the Gulf Pines neighborhood with this midterm solution,” Jones said. “We figured we would have this designed and constructed starting in 2027 through 2034, and that would accommodate the traffic in that amount of time for kind of a midterm solution.”

Lee said the state approved the midterm plan a few years ago, and the city hired Volkert to develop construction drawings for the midterm or temporary bypass.

“We will start working with the new ALDOT director and their staff to bring this project back to the forefront and start talking with them about taking our 30% construction documents, pick those back up and start working on this midterm roadway alignment as well once the new ALDOT administration is in place,” Jones said.

Mayor Robert Craft said he hopes the new administration will hear the city’s request for the new south-only bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway east of Gulf Pines to make it two-way traffic and spur development of the bypass.

“It will become an evacuation route or a daily get-off-the-island route in addition to 59,” Craft said. “If that happens, it’s going to get busier and busier, and that will give us the opportunity to work with the state to get this road built and provide back to the citizens who live in Gulf Pines not to have to deal with that traffic.”

The permanent bypass would leave Canal Road east of the Gulf Shores Utilities wastewater treatment plant, eventually connecting with East 2nd Street near East 20th Avenue. None of the roadway would be in the Gulf Pines neighborhood. The temporary bypass would have homes on the north side of Dolphin Avenue.

Currently, traffic from Orange Beach stays on Canal Road to East 3rd Street where it goes south past popular Meyer Park to East 22nd Avenue then west to connect to East 2nd Street. The east-west road was rerouted through Gulf Pines to accommodate construction of the pedestrian bridge and accompanying plaza that is under construction at the intersection of Canal and East Second, a project necessary because of the widening of the W.C. Holmes Bridge taking Hwy. 59 over the canal. In adding a third southbound lane to the bridge, its walking and bicycle lane is being taken away.

During the reagular, voting meeting session, council also:

Honored Hallie Vecsey as Lifeguard of the Month for September;

Approved a conditional use permit for Gulf Shores Utilities to expand its water treatment plant on West Avenue;

Added the position of assistant manager of operations who “supports effective operations, service delivery, strategic priorities and organization goals” and directly reporting to City Administrator Jon Walker. Also, the city is looking to add a senior management analyst. The city is considering spending $28,000 on recruitment for the new positions in 2026 and a projected ongoing personnel cost of $310,000. Once hired, the manager of operations would make about $145,000 and the analyst $85,000;

Changing text in the zoning amendment to allow more than one home occupation license per residence. In its Sept. 22 meeting, the Gulf Shores Planning Commission gave a favorable recommendation to the change;

Entering into a contract with Park Loyalty for “beachfront parking enforcement, parking ticket collection, and exempt plate registration for residents and property owners.” The three-year contract will be for $102,600;

Authorizing a contract with McElhenny Construction for $1.5 million for the 2026 streets resurfacing program and;

A contract with PV Publications to create a second edition of the city’s book “Gulf Shores: Small Town, Big Beach, the Next Wave.” If passed, officials hope to have the book in hand for the 2027 Shrimp Festival.