Bayway Blues: Memorial Day traffic in Mobile causes headaches

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Red lights, white knuckles, but blue water in the distance.

It’s Memorial Day weekend in the Port City—which means drivers need patience through the Bankhead and Wallace tunnels.

“It’s been awful,” said one driver on Jackson Street downtown.

There’s another long summer ahead full of the Bayway blues.

“I’ve been back Mobile to Daphne now twice today, and it’s been like this all day,” said another driver. “The Bayway is rough, to say the least.”

Some travelling from out of state said they noticed the backups the closer they got to Mobile.

“The city itself is pretty packed but coming up here on the highway wasn’t too terrible, but when we got here, we noticed the change of traffic,” said one Florida man.

Is there a light at the end of this tunnel?

The Mobile River Bridge and Bayway projects are expected to break ground in December, which is hopeful to alleviate the pain of crossing the bay on busy holiday weekends like this.

“Well, they better quit talking about it and get it done!” said one driver.

According to ALDOT, they are right now in the designing phase of the new Mobile River Bridge and Bayway projects, but drivers need patience for that too.

It’s not expected to be finished until the end of 2028.

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