Eastern Shore MPO chair Jack Burrell: ‘Haven’t had any pushback from ALDOT’ on new I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway proposal

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January 4, 2022

Last month’s offering of a proposal for a new I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway from Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, the chairman of the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), and Fairhope City Council president Jack Burrell, the chairman of the Eastern Shore MPO, has not had any pushback from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), according to Burrell.

During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show” on Monday, Burrell discussed the process involved in putting a proposed bridge on the Transportation Improvement Plan and its removal in 2019 because of a controversial toll bridge proposal offered by the Ivey administration.

According to Burrell, this latest proposal was reason for optimism for those hoping to see a new bridge built.

“I know that certainly, back in 1927, the Causeway saw some of the issues, and the Bayway helped come along, you know, in the ’60s,” he said. “But, now we have exceeded all of those designs. The Bayway is designed to handle about 35,000 crossings per day. And we are currently at about 100,000 crossings per day. We far exceed the design of those roadways.”

“Polling has shown that the vast majority of our citizens recognize the need for a solution,” Burrell continued. “Mayor [Sandy] Stimpson and the Mobile MPO and the Eastern Shore MPO have been working very hard to come up with a framework that we think is acceptable to our citizens. We need a solution, and we came up with five key points that we think we have to have. And there are maybe a few other finer points that we’re going to have to have in the plan before we put it back on our TIP, our Transportation Improvement Plan.”

“But I think we can get there, Jeff,” he added. “I’m pretty happy. I’m very satisfied with where we are with this framework. I haven’t had any pushback from ALDOT. Some people have asked me, ‘Where is ALDOT in all of this?’ Well, ALDOT was tasked by the Governor to ask us what we want, and that’s exactly what we did in mid-December is to tell ALDOT this is what we want to see. They didn’t balk at it. We will see what they come back with over the next month or two. Hopefully, it is something we can adopt and put that on our TIP, and finally, get this new bridge and this new expressway or bayway across Mobile Bay.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly, and host of Mobile’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on FM Talk 106.5.