DAPHNE — A recent decision by the Alabama Department of Transportation puts a $2.6 billion project to build a new Interstate-10 bridge over the Mobile River and replace the Bayway closer to reality, area officials said.

The state has applied for a $500 million MEGA grant and $250 million in funding under the Bridge Investment Program, according to reports.

Plans for the bridge are now going forward before state officials have learned if those funding programs have been approved, according to an ALDOT statement.

"ALDOT is moving forward with this project, utilizing funds from the $125 million federal INFRA grant as well as a commitment of at least $250 million in state funding," the statement said.

Daphne City Councilman Ron Scott, a member of the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the news is a major step forward.

"The thought was that if we did not get those grants, then this project was probably dead," Scott said.

He said ALDOT officials are going ahead with plans to start construction.

"The bottom line is they're going ahead and talking with the construction company," Scott said. "It's going to be a design build type of project and they're going ahead with engineering, and it is more real today than it's ever been after we've been talking about it for however many years."

Fairhope City Councilman Jack Burrell, chairman of the Eastern Shore MPO, said he hopes construction could begin in 2023. The project is expected to take about five years.

"I believe that what they want to do is put to bed any doubt whether or not they can move forward and that was in part due to two things," Burrell said.

He said traffic projections for the bridge now estimate that more vehicles will be using the highway, and paying more tolls, than were expected in earlier reports.

Burrell said the project could also be eligible for loans under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Improvement Act, known as TIFIA.

"They can borrow, have much more borrowing power than they had thought, and I believe that's $300 million or $400 million more borrowing power, which means that the project can go forward with or without the grants," Burrell said "It doesn't mean we don't want them. It doesn't mean we're not going to be trying to get them. I think that was a question and I think that's a question that's now been answered."

The project calls for a six-lane, cable-stayed bridge to be built over the Mobile River high enough to allow at least 215 feet of clearance for ships.

A new Bayway will be constructed that will be at least 12 feet higher than the existing highway to meet new federal storm surge requirements. The current Bayway will remain in use without tolls while the new elevated roadway is built.

Part of the funding for the project will come from tolls charged to vehicles using the highway system.

Tolls would be $2.50 or less for passenger vehicles and $18 or less for trucks, according to the ALDOT statement. An unlimited use option would be available for $40 per month.