Mobile River Bridge Clears Final Funding Gap, Notice to Proceed Issued
Construction can finally begin on Alabama’s largest-ever infrastructure project after a $2.52 billion federal loan closed the funding gap, ENR reports. The Alabama Department of Transportation issued notice to proceed on Sept. 25 to design-build joint venture KMT, and a ceremonial groundbreaking is set for Oct. 2.
Market Impact
The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan, finalized Sept. 18, provides the last piece of funding for the $3.2 billion first phase of the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project. That phase is anchored by a 2.5-mile cable-stayed bridge across the Mobile River navigational channel, designed to eliminate the bottleneck created by a pair of tunnels built in the early 1970s. ALDOT had already secured $675 million from two federal grant programs before the TIFIA loan came through, according to ENR.
The joint venture of Kiewit Infrastructure South Co., Massman Construction Co. and Traylor Bros., Inc. has been preparing for the project since being selected in 2023, ENR reported. The five-year construction phase includes reconstructing roughly a mile of the existing Bayway and restriping current viaducts to add a third lane in each direction as an interim fix. The full Bayway replacement, more than seven miles of elevated structure across Mobile Bay, remains unfunded; ALDOT spokesperson Tony Harris said the agency’s goal is to start that work in 2036.
The project’s path has been rocky. ALDOT scrapped an earlier public-private partnership plan in 2019 after public pushback over proposed tolls. Geotechnical challenges and rising labor and material costs later pushed the total Phase 1 cost estimate, including right-of-way, utility relocation and toll-system integration, above $4.1 billion, according to an ALDOT fact sheet cited by ENR. Tolling won’t start until the bridge opens, currently projected for late 2031, and rates adopted Sept. 8 by the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority will run higher than the $2.50 per-trip figure floated in 2022, rising 5% annually or by the regional inflation rate, whichever is greater, for the first 10 years.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Heavy civil, structural steel and marine construction crews should confirm bid packages and subcontract timelines with KMT now, ahead of the Oct. 2 ceremonial groundbreaking, rather than waiting for full mobilization.
- Firms with Bayway-area experience should track ALDOT’s funding search for the mile-plus restriping and reconstruction work included in Phase 1, since that scope is active now even though the full Bayway replacement isn’t funded until a targeted 2036 start.
- Trades tied to hazardous freight routing, including traffic control and signage subs, should watch for changes in local detour patterns once the new crossing opens in late 2031 and hazmat vehicles no longer need to cut through Mobile neighborhood streets.
- Toll-system integration subcontractors, including electrical and E&I crews, should price work against the adopted toll policy structure (5% or regional inflation annually for the first decade), since that scope is tied directly to the $4.1 billion-plus total Phase 1 cost ALDOT has disclosed.
- Companies bidding future phases should document the geotechnical and engineering issues ALDOT cited on the Bayway side, as those same site conditions could affect scope and pricing when that replacement work eventually goes to bid.
