ORANGE BEACH,AL — Officials may not know exactly where money will come from for improvements needed on Canal Road in Orange Beach, but both the state and the city plan to be ready when it does.

If city officials have their way the first phase of the project to be completed will be adding a second eastbound lane from the Sportsplex entrance to Alabama 161. The state is ready to spend money on the preliminaries and consultant Scott Hardy of Burk-Kleinpeter says that’s an important step.

“The DOT is fully committed to funding the preliminary engineering work regardless of what may or may not happen with the funding of the project,” Hardy said. “The point is it gets the project moving quickly and we talk with DOT daily to keep that ball rolling.”

Mayor Tony Kennon says that level of cooperation is an encouraging sign for the prospects of the project.

“When they fund up front that means they have committed and think this is a good project and they want to get it done,” Kennon said. “They’ve really worked hard and really tried to work hard to solve our problems because they recognize the issues.”

Kennon said growth in other parts of Baldwin County will have an effect on beach traffic as well and the Alabama Department of Transportation is being proactive as commercial expansion continues.

“They recognize the coming issues as the development on County Road 20 comes on line,” Kennon said. “It is truly going to increase our traffic on Canal Road.”

The city is taking on another part of Canal Road that will have more of an effect on residents east of Alabama 161 on Canal Road. The city wants to make the road three lanes by adding a center turn lane on that stretch of the road.

On Tuesday the Orange Beach City Council will consider hiring Hardy’s firm to develop “design, permitting and construction engineering and inspection services for the widening and resurfacing of Canal Road.”

“That’s a city initiative,” Director of Community Development and Engineering Kit Alexander said. “We’re in the very preliminary layout phase. We’re just right now to see if it’s feasible, see how it’s going to be laid out.”

ALDOT, Kennon said, has a wish list when it comes to Canal Road and it involves Alabama 180 in Orange Beach as well as Gulf Shores.

“We’re going to partner and there’s the opportunity it may be 100 percent covered if the RESTORE Act money is brought forward to fund a package of roadwork throughout Baldwin County,” Kennon said. “It was Highway 31, 181 and Canal Road all the way from Perdido Gate to Highway 59. If that package works out it will be just about 100 percent covered.”

Getting it worked out means getting it before and through the RESTORE Act panel, who of the members being Kennon and Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft. Other members include commissioners from Mobile and Baldwin counties, the mayor of Fairhope, three mayors from Mobile County, the head of the state docks in Mobile and Gov. Robert Bentley.

“The package we proposed by pulling $35 million out of the RESTORE council money, the RESTORE Act, there’s a three to one match because there’s $55 million from Montgomery and $35 million from ALDOT,” Kennon said. “That’s what the RESTORE Act was put in for. There couldn’t be a more appropriate way to use that money. Got to get 10 politicians in the room and get it done.”

Gulf Shores Public Works Director Mark Acreman said in his city the project would be aimed at widening and increasing volume on Canal Road there.

“The main thing is to increase the capacity, try to find a better way to get them off the bridge quicker,” Acreman said. “That’s a bottle neck right there. I don’t know how you solve all that – it’s a lot of moving parts – but for me personally I hope we can increase capacity on Canal Road and better traffic routing around our schools.”

Easing the problems caused by the road’s 90-degree turn at Tacky Jacks and Frith’s Bait Shop is another goal.

“I don’t think you can widen 180 without addressing the 90-degree turn,” Acreman said. “Whether you smooth the turn out or you look for an alternate route around that location, either way the 90-degree turn is kind of like the Wallace tunnel. Everybody knows it’s a pinch point but it’s the hardest part of the problem to solve.”