After years of false starts, the Mobile River Bridge project finally has a target date — and it’s one the trucking industry should be watching closely. According to Claire Harrison of Alabama Daily News (ADN), Alabama Department of Transportation officials briefed state lawmakers this week that funding for the project is nearly locked in, with construction expected to begin in early October. ALDOT spokesman Tony Harris called the project the “agency’s largest infrastructure undertaking ever,” adding that a groundbreaking date should be announced within weeks, with federal officials likely taking part.
Impact on Trucking, Tolling
For fleets routing through Mobile, the practical impact starts almost immediately. The project is being built in two phases to manage cost: the first covers a new six-lane cable-stayed bridge, paired with a restriping of the existing bayway to maintain six lanes of capacity while that work is underway, meaning I-10 stays open through construction, just reconfigured. A second phase, a full rebuild of the bayway itself, will follow later. The outlet noted federal officials have only agreed to let the state phase the work, not waived the eventual bayway replacement altogether.
On cost and timing, phase one is projected at $3.2 billion, financed through a combination of federal grants, a federal loan, and state funding, with ALDOT aiming to finalize that financing by mid-to-late September so construction can be formally authorized in early October. The outlet reported ALDOT expects the build itself to take about five years.
The detail most likely to affect carrier costs down the line is tolling, and there’s good news on timing there. According to reports, tolls won’t be collected until the new bridge is actually complete, expected in 2031, meaning fleets have a multi-year runway before any toll expense factors into routing.
Once tolling begins, drivers using an interoperable transponder will pay $7.70 per trip, with lower-cost options available through a dedicated pass program and a monthly unlimited commuter plan, and drivers without a transponder will be billed by license plate.
ADN also reported that several existing crossings, the causeway, the Wallace Tunnel, the Bankhead Tunnel, and the Africatown Bridge, will remain toll-free indefinitely, giving dispatchers a no-cost alternative through the area both during and after construction.
Taken together, the upshot for truckers: expect active construction along the I-10 corridor through Mobile starting this fall and continuing for roughly five years, with no toll costs to plan around until the new bridge opens in 2031. That leaves time to prepare for the toll structure down the road, but carriers should start factoring construction-related lane changes on the bayway into routing sooner rather than later.
