A lawsuit filed by Baldwin County Bridge Company (BCBC) in October 2022 against Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) director John Cooper was officially dismissed Thursday.
The sale of the Beach Express bridge on May 23 terminated the lawsuit.
Montgomery County Circuit Judge Jimmy Pool ordered the case dismissed with prejudice and ordered each party to pay its own court costs and attorney fees.
BCBC filed the lawsuit after ALDOT decided to build a new, toll-free bridge nearby. The company operated the bridge for nearly 24 years and claimed the new bridge would put them out of business. The bridge company also claimed Cooper made the decision in bad faith. BCBC proposed other options to Cooper but stated in court filings that those options were not considered, and the decision to build a new bridge was made without public input.
The case reached the Alabama Supreme Court, where the state was given the green light to build the new bridge. Shortly after that decision, BCBC raised tolls but ultimately agreed to sell the toll bridge to ALDOT. Tolls ended after the sale on Thursday.
ALDOT plans to complete the nearby bridge by the summer of 2026. At that time, the new bridge will be southbound, and the existing Beach Express bridge will become a northbound route.
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