In 2019, one of the most significant political issues in Alabama was the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway proposal that would have levied a toll on those seeking to make the trek across the Mobile Bay.

Ultimately, the unpopular proposal from Gov. Kay Ivey and Alabama Department of Transportation director John Cooper failed when local officials from the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) took it off of the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).

However, earlier this month, officials from the Mobile and Eastern Shore MPOs have signaled their support for a similar proposal that would levy a much smaller toll.

According to U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Huntsville), a candidate for Alabama’s U.S. Senate seat up in 2022, the decision should be one left up solely to the local elected officials and the public in Mobile and Baldwin Counties.

“This is predominantly a local issue that is very important to Mobile and Baldwin Counties,” he said during an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show.” “And I will support whatever it is that the local officials, local community, local citizens come up with as a solution. They know the best way to handle that, and they know what they are wanting to tolerate in terms of cost far better than I do.”

“So, I defer to their judgment with them, knowing they will support whatever solution they collectively come up with,” Brooks added.

On specifically tolling as a financing mechanism, Brooks said he was deferential to the local community.

“It depends on what the community wants,” he reiterated. “It’s always a trade-off — the higher cost versus the convenience of having a more rapid transit across the bay area.”

@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.