With specifics expected to be forthcoming, U.S. Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) and Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) co-bylined an op-ed that appeared Tuesday on AL(dot)com, which praised President Donald Trump and his administration's efforts to move construction forward on the long-awaited new I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway.
In the op-ed, Alabama's two U.S. Senators touted the administration's move to eliminate "the final obstacles standing in the way of this transformational project," which includes reported improvements to toll authority, "flexibility" on federal grants and the removal of "unnecessary bureaucratic requirements and commitments from the project scope."
"None of this happens by accident. It follows months – even years – of serious, high-level discussions among Alabama's congressional delegation, local leaders from Mobile and Baldwin counties, Gov. Kay Ivey, the Alabama Department of Transportation, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, and senior federal transportation officials – all with the active participation and support of President Trump," the senators wrote.
In 2024, under the Biden administration, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) was awarded the $550 million Bridge Investment Program grant for the project.
Any bridge project is expected to include a toll, a long-standing rigid stance of the Ivey administration. In 2022, ALDOT proposed a $2.50 toll each way and a $40 unlimited monthly pass, which received praise from then-Mobile MPO Chair and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and Eastern Shore MPO Chair and Fairhope City Councilmember Jack Burrell.
The project suffered a setback years earlier, when the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) voted 8-1 in 2019 to remove a controversial iteration of the project from its Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
ALSO: Tuberville on new Mobile Bay Bridge: We pay taxes but we still have to pay tolls — It makes no sense
In 2019, Ivey's ALDOT proposed a $6 maximum toll each way, with the Bankhead Tunnel and the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge paired with the existing U.S. 90-98 causeway as the so-called toll-free route.
Jeff Poor is the editor-in-chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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