U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Mobile) amended a federal bill to include funding for the removal of infrastructure that impedes trade and maritime navigation.
The amendment was made to the Build America 250 Act before it was passed out of committee last week. Lawmakers are working on an end-of-summer deadline to secure historic funding for infrastructure on the nation's 250th anniversary.
The five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill is also meant to cut the red tape and allow states to prioritize their needs.
However, a statement by Figures in a recent press release has caught state and local officials off guard. Figures took credit for securing funds to "strengthen port infrastructure," and highlighted his amendment, which allows funding for bridge projects across the country, including the "removal or modification of tunnels and associated highway structures, and the raising of bridges that constrain maritime navigation or prevent use of fully authorized channel depth, and construction of replacement bridge facilities to maintain highway connectivity."
Figures serves as vice ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. He explained the amendment could benefit the Port of Mobile.
"Currently, large container ships are unable to use the entire Port of Mobile—the deepest container port in the Gulf—because of the tunnel that runs through the river," the press release stated. "This amendment opens the door for federal funding for the removal of the tunnel in order to maximize the capacity and impact of the Port of Mobile."
The George Wallace Tunnel and the Bankhead Tunnel allow drivers to travel under the Mobile River.
Daphne Mayor Robin LeJeune, who serves as the vice chair of the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), told 1819 News that removing the tunnels has never come up in discussions with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). As the state has prepared for the long-anticipated Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, LeJeune said the tunnels were always going to remain to give drivers a free option after a new toll bridge is built.
"I mean, it's a little surprising, but you know the state has always been very upfront with us about it and we've been very upfront with them, so I don't know how much traction this really has," LeJeune said. "… It's never been anything that has been discussed remotely by the MPO or the state or anybody that we've had any kind of talks with, because it's been a big part of having a free route for people to use without taking the toll bridge."
LeJeune said he does not think removing the tunnels would gain local support.
"We worked really hard at trying to make sure we put things in place to protect our citizens here when we talk about the bridge project and the cost and all those things, that was one of the major ones was to make sure we had a free route for people to use," LeJeune added.
Figures has not responded to a media request for clarification from 1819 News.
The Build America 250 Act is expected to head to the House floor soon before going to the Senate. Lawmakers are hoping to pass a final version before the current law expires on September 30.
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