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The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has announced the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Widening project will be developed under public-private partnership (PPP).

The proposed project will increase the capacity of I-10 by constructing a new six-lane bridge with 215 feet of Air Draft Clearance (ADC) across the Mobile River and widening the existing I-10 bridges across Mobile Bay from four to eight lanes. The proposed project would be located in Mobile and Baldwin Counties, Alabama.

The total cost for the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project is estimated to be more than US$1.5 billion.

ALDOT envisages the project as a PPP in the form of a design, build, finance, operate and maintain model.

ALDOT hosted an Industry Forum in late-August and more than 400 engineering, construction and finance professionals gathered in Mobile to learn about the project. The Industry Forum served as an opportunity for ALDOT to provide a project overview, engage potential teams, and gather input. During one-on-one team meetings, ALDOT heard from companies who have experience with similar mega projects. This feedback will help shape ALDOT’s procurement process.

ALDOT plans on releasing a Request for Qualifications in late September. 

The project would be Alabama’s first transportation PPP.

The preferred alternate would require widening beginning at I-10/Virginia Street and the I-10/Texas Street interchanges where the main Mobile River bridge would begin. The bridge would follow the existing I-10 route to the northeast and would shift east to cross over the I-10/Canal Street interchange, span the Mobile Harbor Federal Navigation Channel and tie into the I-10 Bayway approximately 0.88 mile east of the Wallace Tunnels. 

The project aims to ease congestion on the George Wallace Tunnel, the current I-10 crossing under the Mobile River. Constructed in the 1970s, it was designed with an anticipated daily traffic count of 36,000. Currently, the tunnel averages 73,300 vehicles per day, and can reach as many as 100,000 vehicles in the peak season. The traffic volume causes heavy congestion and longer travel times. An alternate I-10 crossing has been requested by the public and is in the public interest.

Besides in the Mobile area, there is a need to increase the capacity of I-10 to meet existing and predicted future traffic volumes and to provide a more direct route for vehicles transporting hazardous materials, while minimizing impacts to Mobile’s maritime industry.