Tip O’Neill, the House Speaker of the 1980s, was fond of saying, “all politics is local,” and successful campaigns for many years held close to that mantra.

But like the cassette tape, VHS, and music on MTV, the concept is considered dated in modern political circles. And in Alabama’s 1st congressional district’s GOP primary contest, issues of local importance are taking a backseat to border control, conservative voting records, foreign affairs, inflation, and the plight of former President Donald Trump.

Still, one local issue looms large because of national and state implications and past controversies over tolls, and how to pay for it: The Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge & Bayway project.

The Republican candidates – U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl of Mobile and U.S. Rep. Barry Moore of Enterprise — are not talking about the $2.7 billion project much on the stump, even as the issue of assessing tolls looms as a thorny issue for whomever wins the congressional seat.

Biden, foreign aid, gas tax

In comments to AL.com, the candidates recognize the importance of the project even if they lump national issues – the Biden administration, the war in Ukraine — with it.

The two are also providing some misleading details.

Carl believes former President Donald Trump can better deliver on the project than current President Joe Biden, whose administration won approval of a $1 trillion infrastructure program in 2021. Trump has not once ever mentioned the I-10 project as an administration priority, though he has vowed to add lanes to Interstate 65 if elected in November.

Moore believes the state’s fuel tax increase in 2019, should go toward financing the bridge project. But the Rebuild Alabama Act raises slightly more than $300 million each year, and that money is spread throughout the state and is not viewed as a financing option for a large-scale project.

“There is no doubt coastal Alabama desperately needs a new I-10 bridge, and I’m encouraged by our local leaders working together on a toll-free plan,” said U.S. Rep. Jerry Carl, R-Mobile, who has dealt with the project for years prior to his congressional term that began in 2020, as a member of the Mobile County Commission.

“Unfortunately, Joe Biden has chosen to dump money into Green New Deal projects in liberal states, rather than investing in real infrastructure in this country,” Carl added. “This is exactly why we need to get Trump back in office so we will have a President who cares about Alabama and will make our infrastructure needs a priority.”

Trump, when he was in office, did not signal any federal support for the I-10 project in Mobile – home to his earliest and largest political rallies in 2015 and 2016. But he did tout an I-10 bridge fix ahead of the 2020 election for Lakes Charles, La. And just last year, before a crowd of Alabama Republicans, he promised to prioritize a massive fix to I-65 through Alabama.

U.S. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, said there is no reason to discuss a bridge project at the same time the federal government is spending billions of dollars to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Moore, during a visit to Robertsdale recently, said if the federal government “takes care of resources and reinvests in this country,” projects like the I-10 project will happen.

“We can do a lot of things in the U.S. with our own money instead of sending it to foreign countries,” Moore said. “Foreign aid is taking money from poor people in a rich country and sending it to rich people in a poor country. There are more simple solutions to these issues. We just need people willing to say, ‘here’s how we fix it, let’s stop sending money to these countries.’”

Moore, a former state lawmaker before he ran for Congress, said he was opposed to the fuel tax increase Alabama state lawmakers adopted in 2019. The gas tax amounted to a gradual 10-cent-per-gallon hike that raises money for the statewide Rebuild Alabama Act initiative.

Moore accuses Carl of past vocal support for the gas tax increase, adding, “Why don’t you already have a bridge? They raised your taxes.” Carl has never been in the state Legislature.

Different approaches

The winner of the rare incumbent versus incumbent showdown on March 5, will likely be the heavy favorite to win the General Election in a congressional district considered as one of the most conservative in the country.

After redistricting, the district blends Baldwin, and parts of Mobile counties with the rural Wiregrass region. Baldwin County is the largest population base for the new 1st district.

Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan, whose city could see an influx of vehicles along the untolled Spanish Fort Causeway during and after the bridge project, said he knows where Carl stands on the bridge but has no idea about Moore’s position. McMillan, like a host of politicians from Baldwin County, have endorsed Carl’s candidacy.

McMillan credits Carl’s office for securing $3 million to support an intersection project at U.S. 31 and 98 that he says, when completed, will help the city if more traffic diverts off the future toll bridge to the Causeway and into his Eastern Shore city.

“Everyone in this part of the world or anyone who travels to the beaches knows the importance of getting this bridge done,” McMillan said. “I haven’t heard anything from the Moore camp that makes me warm and fuzzy about being able to go after funding for this.”

Jon Gray, a spokesman for the Dare to Defend Our Rights political action committee supporting Moore’s candidacy, said it was retired U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, and not Carl, who secured past federal funding for the project. The only federal funds secured on the I-10 project come from a $125 million grant secured by Shelby in 2019.

“Shelby did a great job in bringing home billions to Alabama, no question about it and hats off to him,” Gray said. “But Republicans today are looking at the national deficit, and the trillions of dollars, and are wondering what my children are going to have to deal with. I think voters today are much less interested in what you will bring home.”

Gray also said that Carl has not sponsored notable legislation to address the project. He said that Moore has sponsored legislation that has been approved by the full House, including a resolution that requires the deportation of undocumented immigrants convicted of a DUI.

“Barry Moore is passing bills out of Congress and I do think he has the ability to do something, and to get some leverage,” Gray said. “You either subscribe to Barry Moore’s belief that we need to get our priorities straight in this country and bring money back (for transportation projects) or you subscribe to Jerry’s belief that this is about Biden. Shelby got the money for South Alabama, and he didn’t get it from the President of the United States. I feel like there is a scam going on here that people are trying to say ‘Vote for Jerry Carl because he’ll deliver the bucks back home.’ I think (voters) are more worried about interest rates and overspending.”

State Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, said the next 1st district congressman must realize the importance of getting federal support for leveraging infrastructure projects in Baldwin County, among the fastest growing in Alabama.

Elliott, who is endorsing Carl, said Moore’s approach is “much more combative and much less conducive toward getting things done in Washington.”

He said Carl sits on the important U.S. House Appropriations Committee, which puts him closer to federal spending plans. Moore has touted his inclusion in the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, and it’s scrutiny of spending plans. Moore was the only Alabama member of the U.S. House to vote against the annual national defense spending package last year, something which Carl labeled as “unAmerican.”

“I want the guy who votes the way I vote, and both candidates check that box,” Elliott said. “And I want the guy who gets things done and things done for the fastest growing county in the state, and the 11th fastest growing (Metropolitan Service Area) in the country.”

Said Elliott, “Jerry sits on Appropriations and that’s a big deal. Barry doesn’t. The elected officials who are talking about Jerry Carl are talking about Jerry Carl for a reason. He can get things done and is a partner who doesn’t scream into the wind.”

But Moore’s style is something appreciated among conservatives, many of whom will be voting during the primary.

“I believe it is possible to be a conservative like Barry Moore and that you don’t have to support every federal government program to believe that the federal government should help with the bridge,” said Robert Monk, chairman of the South Baldwin County chapter of the Common Sense Campaign TEA Party. “This is an interstate highway system that carries cars across the Southeast and the southern part of the U.S. It seems, to an ordinary citizen like me, that the federal government should pay.”

Monk said residents in Baldwin County are resigned to the fact that there is going to be some “minimal tolling” required to get the bridge built. The bridge is also needed, he said. And the next congressman will have to secure federal grants to help offset the tolls assessed on users.

“I’m sure both of them will work as much as they can to get as much money as they can to build the bridge,” Monk said. “But from a philosophical perspective, I like that Barry says that if we don’t save the country, none of this other stuff matters.”

Tolls, grants, financing

The bridge project has been a priority for those who have either ran for or held onto the 1st district congressional seat.

Five years ago, a toll plan unveiled by the state erupted in a massive controversy in Baldwin County that ultimately led to the unraveling of a previous I-10 bridge plan that was based on a public-private partnership arrangement.

At the time, former U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne of Fairhope was inundated with criticism over the bridge issue, while his former political adversary, Dean Young, advocated that tolling not even be part of the discussion.

The Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization – which consists of mayors, city council members and county commissioner – voted in 2019, to remove the project from state and federal transportation plans amid fervor over tolling. The project has since been added back into the plans, even though tolling still exists.

A revised plan is now progressing, and construction is expected to begin this year. The Alabama Department of Transportation is the project’s administrator, while the federal government has largely been in the background offering guidance to state officials as they move forward. In fact, only twice in the past 12 years has a former U.S. Secretary of Transportation visited coastal Alabama to discuss the project: Ray LaHood, in 2012, who vowed the project is “absolutely going to happen,” and Anthony Foxx, in 2015, who pushed for creative financing plans to make the massive project happen.

But the latest project continues to have a massive funding gap, and one that could make tolling a reality for years to come. ALDOT officials are hopeful that a federal “Mega Grant” – if awarded for the project — will help reduce some of the timeline for the tolling.

The latest iteration of the project calls for a new six-lane, 215-foot-tall cable-stay bridge in downtown Mobile that connects to an elevated and expanded new Bayway. The six-lane Bayway will run 7.4 miles and connect Mobile to U.S. 98 in Daphne.

Aside from the $125 million secured by Shelby, the only other direct government funding on the project comes from $250 million dedicated through the state.

The entire project, without receiving additional grants, relies heavily on financing that includes $1.2 billion through bonding and another $1.1 billion through federal loans under the Transportation Infrastructure and Innovation Act (TIFIA).

Users are set to pay for the project, possibly for a long time. As pitched, a motorist will be assessed a $5.50 toll if they have not secured an ALGO Pass. If they have a pass, the toll rate will be $2.50 for a one-way trip over the new infrastructure only. A $40 monthly discount will also be available.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said last month that he anticipates the project will be under construction by September.

Other officials say that funding remains the overarching issue, and one that the March 5 winner cannot ignore.

“I think whomever gets elected, I would fully expect them to help us secure the funding for the Mobile River Bridge and new Bayway project in anyway they can,” said Fairhope City Councilman Jack Burrell, chairman of the Eastern Shore MPO.