Mayor Jones Makes Recommendation on Proposed I-10 Bridge Over Mobile River

Jun 10th, 2009

Mobile Mayor Sam Jones issued an official recommendation Wednesday on the four alternates being proposed by the Alabama Department of Transportation to relieve traffic congestion into the Wallace and Bankhead tunnels.

Attending the press conference with Jones were City Council President Reggie Copeland, Mobile County Commission President Mike Dean, Mobile County Commission Merceria Ludgood, Mobile Convention and Visitors Bureau board chairman Mike Lee, Downtown Business Alliance board member Cooper Thurber and local realtor Randy Delchamps, Chairman of the Maritime Museum Board of Directors E. B. Peebles III, Senior VP of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Bob Chappelle, and Director and CEO of the Alabama Port Authority, Jimmy Lyons.

Based upon a technical review by city engineers, Jones recommended Alternate B Shifted (aka Alternate AB), seen in the map below, as the route that will have less impact on downtown Mobile, the cruise industry and the maritime industry.

Jones said, “Of the four (alternates), B Shifted is the best compromise and works well with the future vision of Mobile’s 10-year plan. This alternate is the least disruptive to the City of Mobile, to industry and the waterfront.

“There comes a time when decisions must be made on an issue. It is time for us to move forward. We’ve debated this issue for years, while traffic congestion on I-10 worsens. We need this bridge, though we are mindful of its impact on our thriving city. Failure to act will be costly to our future.”

This is the first time since the bridge issue surfaced for the mayor to offer a recommendation to ALDOT. “I have not taken a position on an alternate in the past because we needed to allow time for all alternates to be considered. This process started with 14 alternates over the past six years. We are now down to four.

“Alternate B Shifted is by far the preferred route to minimize an adverse impact on the city. There is no perfect alternate. That being the case, it is time to decide this issue, and bring some finality to the traffic congestion on I-10.”

The mayor said Bender’s Shipbuilding and Austal will be affected by Alternate B Shifted. However, the effect can be mitigated by ALDOT by establishing a close working relationship with those industries to prevent any disruption in the operation of their facilities.





Organizations that have passed resolutions supporting proposed Mobile River Bridge:

Alabama General Contractors – Mobile Section, Mobile County Road Builders Association, Inc.
Alabama State Port Authority
Alabama Trucking Association
Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. Mid Gulf Coast Chapter
Baldwin County Economic Development Association
Baldwin County Mayor’s Association
Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce
Eastern Shore Mayors Association
Gulf Shores Convention and Visitors Bureau
Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Mobile, Inc.
Mobile Area Association of Realtors
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce
Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau
Mobile Commercial Real Estate Exchange
Mobile Container Terminal
Mobile County Commission
Mobile Customhouse Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association
Mobile Steamship Association
University of South Alabama