The Eastern Shore and Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organizations announced in a Monday press release that ALDOT plans to move forward with the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project.

This announcement comes before the results of outstanding applications for federal Mega Grant and Bridge Investment Program funding have been determined.

However, in a memo sent to the chairs of the Eastern Shore and Mobile MPOs, ALDOT determined that it must move forward now, stating that further delay would only make the project more costly and disruptive as traffic congestion increases.

Plan details include:

• A comprehensive plan with a new Mobile River Bridge and a new Bayway that meets capacity and safety needs and can be built in five years
• Free, no-toll routes on the Causeway, Wallace Tunnel, Bankhead Tunnel, and Africatown Bridge
• Toll options of $2.50 or less for passenger vehicles, and $18.00 or less for trucks
• An unlimited use option for $40 per month, which is under $1 per trip for daily commuters between Mobile and Baldwin Counties
• Toll revenue to be used only to pay down project debt, with tolling to end once the debt is paid off
• All infrastructure to be owned and operated by the State of Alabama, with no private concessionaire
• A contribution of at least $250 million in State funding, in addition to $125 million in federal funding through an INFRA Grant