Mayors in south Baldwin County are criticizing the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and director John Cooper over proposed changes made to two bridges across the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).
ALDOT is building a new bridge across the ICW. The original plan was to allow traffic to go both north and south over the bridge, but now ALDOT wants to make the bridge southbound only.
The former toll bridge in Orange Beach will be turned into a northbound-only bridge. However, the plans are not sitting well with local leaders who say they know what's best for their communities.
While some city leaders have chosen not to speak out against the state for fear of losing opportunities, Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon has not held back his opinions. In fact, Kennon and Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft publicly butted heads when the bridge building began in 2022, which led to a lawsuit. However, the two have since come together to speak against the plans.
"It makes no sense to Mayor Kennon or to Mayor Craft or the Mayor of Foley, either." Craft said. "The three of us have been to Montgomery to argue with Director Cooper about how bad this idea is and we were all three together in agreement that this is a bad idea for South Baldwin County."
"I think it's going to be confusing," said Kennon. "I think it's going to be difficult. I support 100% north-south on each bridge, but I've been doing this long enough to know that I don't think this administration is going to make that change."
While Cooper is a traffic expert, both mayors say the director does not understand how local traffic works.
"Nobody understands local traffic better than a mayor," he said. "We live here. We deal with the people that are here."
"The majority of our traffic is not locals," Craft continued. "We're close to eight million visitors that are coming to Baldwin County every year; the majority of them are coming to Gulf Shores. They're here for a week."
"Everyone down here is in support of each bridge being north and south for the most part," said Kennon. "I don't know of anybody who has a problem with it or can articulate a reason that it should be this way. But again, it goes back to folks in Montgomery who just never listened to the local folks who really know what they are talking about."
Kennon and Craft said no one with the state came to them to ask for input before making the plans. They met as a group with Cooper to no avail.
"I think he was listening more to tell us why we were wrong, not listening to see if he might be mistaken," Kennon said. "And that's two different kinds of listening. So, I left there believing there was no – he had no intentions of changing anything."
"They have not consulted with me and I think it's a ridiculous plan," Craft claimed. "Matter of fact, two days ago, I was back in Director Cooper's office trying to talk to him about this process."
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After speaking with Cooper on multiple occasions, Craft said he did not believe the ALDOT director is willing to make any changes.
"John [Cooper] is not interested in being corrected." Craft told 1819 News. "He's not interested in being considered wrong. He won't admit that he's wrong."
The mayors both said a change in state leadership is the only way to fix traffic issues over the ICW.
"I guess we can just hope for the new governor comes in and applies a degree of common sense and listens to what we have to say and listen to us articulate our reasons for why it should be that way," said Kennon.
"… It's just really, really frustrating having to deal with the issues created by someone that doesn't live here or really know what here is," the Orange Beach mayor added. "And I've come to the realization that I'm spitting in the wind. So. the governor has the ultimate decision. If she wants to change it, all she's got to do is tell Mr. Cooper we're changing it. But it doesn't look like she will overrule him, nor has she ever overruled him."
Craft believes it will take more time and money to clean up any mess that is made.
Kennon hopes a new governor and ALDOT director will mean a new bridge in Orange Beach parallel to the former toll bridge.
"I believe the true fix for our 20-year fix would be to build another bridge right next to The Wharf bridge, the current bridge, and that way you have two lanes going south, two lanes going north," he said.
Kennon also said he is hopeful the election of President Donald Trump will mean more federal transportation funds for Alabama.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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