The Alabama State Supreme Court ruled Friday that a lower court did not have the authority to halt the construction of a two-lane bridge in Gulf Shores, and reversed a preliminary injunction against the project.

The 31-page ruling said that the Alabama Department of Transportation and its Director John Cooper are protected by the “doctrine of State immunity” rooted in the 122-year-old Alabama State Constitution, which gives the states and its agencies “absolute immunity” from being sued.

The decision reverses a May ruling by Montgomery Circuit Judge Jimmie Pool, who ordered the bridge project halted following a seven-day bench trial that included 13 witnesses and over 200 exhibits.

It’s unclear if or when construction will resume on the Gulf Shores bridge that, when completed, will be the fourth bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway leading motorists to the state’s beaches.

“We have explained that (the Constitution of 1901) grant of immunity is a jurisdictional bar that strips courts of all power to adjudicate not only claims against the State and its agencies, but also claims against State officers, employees, and agents in their official capacities when a result favorable to the plaintiff would directly affect a contract or property right of the State,” the ruling says.

The state’s high court said the plaintiffs in the lawsuit — the Baldwin County Bridge Company (BDBC), which operates a toll bridge adjacent to The Wharf and a little more than a 1 mile from the Gulf Shores bridge project — made a “bad-faith” claim against Cooper’s handling over past negotiations “in his official capacity.”

“There can be no dispute that a result favorable to BCBC would directly affect a contract right of the State,” the ruling reads.

The court also ruled that since Pool did not have jurisdiction based on State immunity, his previous order for Cooper to produce intraoffice communications between ALDOT and employees with Gov. Kay Ivey’s office was “moot.” Pool had requested the communication, but Cooper’s attorneys with Balch & Bingham filed an emergency order from the State Supreme Court in January to temporarily withhold those records based on an argument that they were protected by “executive or deliberative process privilege.”

The court did reject Cooper’s argument that the trial court should be required to increase a preliminary injunction bond above $100,000. It also ruled against the bridge contractor — Scott Bridge Company — which had also wanted to recover damages on the preliminary injunction bond.

The Supreme Court’s decision occurs a year since BCBC and Cooper broke off negotiations over an alternative project to the state’s beaches. BCBC’s proposal included, among other things, additional lanes to the existing Foley Beach Express toll bridge and making additional roadway improvements.

Most bridge users are assessed a $2.75 one-way toll across the bridge. The alternative plan would have removed the toll fees for Baldwin County residents.

Cooper, during testimony before Pool, argued that BCBC’s proposal was as “useless as a screen door on a submarine,” and claimed that the company was not offering a so-called “free” alternative while subjecting the state to “long-term exclusivity that we do not build a competing bridge.”

The dueling projects also split the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. In Gulf Shores, cities officials backed the state’s bridge project, saying it would provide an additional emergency evacuation route and that it would not be at risk of barge collisions because none of the bridge pilings were expected to be in the Intercoastal Waterway. The bridge was also sought by Gulf Shores officials as a way to alleviate traffic on the nearby W.C. Holmes Bridge along Alabama State Route 59.

Orange Beach officials have called the bridge project a “boondoggle,” arguing that it is only two lanes and does not take motorists directly to the beaches. The bridge stops at Canal Road, giving motorists the options to veer west toward Gulf Shores or east into Orange Beach.

This story will be updated as additional information and reactions are available.