Construction of the long-awaited I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway could start this year under a recently adopted phased approach.
The toll-bridge project's new phased approach is designed to reduce overall costs. The finished project would create a new Interstate 10 Bridge and Bayway connecting Mobile and the eastern shore of Baldwin County in southern Alabama. It has been in the works since 1997 when the first feasibility study was conducted. It is expected to be the largest transportation infrastructure project in Alabama history.
The Alabama Department of Transportation, the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization crafted the new phased approach. Under the plan, the bridge is expected to open in 2031. Its start, however, is still pending a federal TIFIA loan, which is expected to be approved soon.
Phase 1 of the project, estimated to cost $3.2 billion and begin this fall, would include:
- Constructing a new six-lane, cable-stayed bridge
- Restriping the existing Bayway for six lanes of traffic
- Improving major interchanges, intersections and traffic flow throughout the corridor in Mobile and Baldwin counties
Phase 2 will construct a new Bayway structure as additional funding becomes available and will be partially financed by future toll revenue.
Driving factors behind the switch to a phased construction strategy, according to ALDOT, include inflation, higher labor and material costs, engineering and geotechnical challenges on the Bayway and federal regulatory requirements. Additionally, new engineering analysis determined that constructing a new Bayway and bridge simultaneously would not be financial sustainable.
Powered byProposed toll rates for the future I-10 bridge include:
- $60 unlimited monthly commuter pass (about $1.36 per trip for daily commuters)
- $3 per trip with an ALGO Pass
- $7.70 per trip using a compatible interoperable transponder
- Pay-by-plate billing for drivers without a transponder
