Finding a solution to the long-standing traffic woes tied to crossing the Intracoastal Waterway to arrive to and depart from Baldwin County’s beaches is uncertain as a disagreement between Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon and Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft seems to have gotten personal.
Since 1972, the Alabama Highway 59 via the W.C. Holmes
As the number of beachgoers continues to increase on an annual basis and more people make Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan their homes, a third bridge has been proposed to alleviate the increased traffic tie-ups. However, given the limitations of the Gulf State Park boundaries, determining the proper location for a new bridge has been difficult, with some questioning if a new bridge is the right choice as a solution.
Last week, Kennon issued a statement revealing Gov. Kay Ivey and Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) director John Cooper suspended the current process underway for building a new bridge and entered into a three-month negotiating period with the Foley Beach Express bridge owners Baldwin County Bridge Company and ALDOT.
The announcement drew the ire of Craft, who said he was “extremely disappointed” in his own statement and called into question the effort after “three years of fruitless negotiations” with the current bridge owners.
In an interview with Mobile radio’s FM Talk 106.5, Kennon explained his position on the years-old issue, noting his skepticism of the new bridge that would connect southbound visitors over the Intracoastal Waterway to the island and onto Alabama Highway 180 (Canal Road), just north of the beaches.
“Well, it sounds good when you say you’re adding a free bridge and new access point,” he said. “But when you look at the actual roadway, it’s a nightmare. You’ve now introduced three brand-new intersections, roundabouts that look like a drunk man creating crop circles. And you’re telling me that you’re going to move more traffic through that gauntlet. It’s just not going to happen. It serves locally. It serves Gulf Shores for local movement. It does not do what the intended purpose is, and the whole purpose of this discussion was to get more traffic off Highway 59 and onto the expressway, and it moves smoothly in the summertime. That’s all this is about.”
“We have never supported this,” Kennon continued. “We’ve always been an advocate of working with the toll bridge company, which is a good company. It is trying to work with us because essentially what we have then is two lanes north, two lanes south, one intersection, free-flowing all the way to County Road 8, as opposed to one lane south, one lane north, flowing through to those additional intersections. There’s just no logic to it, and they’re fixing to spend $70-80 million for it. And the sad part is the Governor [Kay Ivey] and ALDOT director [John] Cooper are put in the middle because they’re just trying to find a solution.”
“I appreciate them coming back and saying we really want to evaluate this, and reevaluate this, and let’s come up with the best use of the money in the most pragmatic way to move traffic around,” he added. “That is the goal.”
Kennon proposed having a discussion in a public forum with Craft and said he took umbrage at suggestions of corruption.
“It’s like I said last night — Mayor Craft, it’s time for me and you to get on stage in a public forum, town hall — whatever you want to do,” he said. “We need to lay it down so everyone can see the facts, make their mind up for themselves, and stop all this social media bantering and nonsense, and again — open the floor. Anybody who has a got a question about anything, let them see the layout and let them decide.”
“It became personal when the mayor accused us essentially — for lack of a better word — of being in the toll bridge pocket,” Kennon continued. “It was all about money, and that’s the furthest thing from the truth. This has been going on for three years, and there’s a certain line you don’t cross. You can call me ugly. You can tell me I dress funny. But don’t call me corrupt.”
Kennon gave an update on another possible alternative route, which would be a bridge at Wolf Bay further to the east but said while the permitting process with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was proceeding, the timing was not right for that particular project.
@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.
