“Take the Causeway” is a popular saying in coastal Alabama. During the lunch hour on Wednesday, doing so would’ve required wearing life jackets.

An unexpected deluge of rain that blasted through the Alabama Gulf Coast on Wednesday left portions of the Spanish Fort Causeway swamped and nearly impossible to drive.

That’s not anything new to local residents, long accustomed to the road’s watery conditions during severe weather at the so-called “Midbay” point where the Causeway intersects with Interstate 10.

But on Wednesday, the earlier-than-expected arrival of a powerful weather system, coinciding with the lunch hour, created atypical congestion during a severe weather event and produced harrowing images of vehicles on the Causeway, making national news.

In the storm’s aftermath, one question arose: Why wasn’t the Causeway closed when it was becoming clear that the road conditions were dire for anyone driving on it?

“It is ALDOT’s policy to preposition crews ahead of the incident to monitor water levels as was done yesterday,” said James Gordon, spokesman with the Alabama Department of Transportation’s Southwest Region. “ALDOT does not close the Causeway preemptively.”

ALDOT, like others including schools and emergency management officials, admit that the storm front surprised them, arriving hours before anticipated.

For the Causeway, that meant an aggressive storm surge that “quickly began to cover the eastbound lanes.”

Said Gordon, “the decision to close the eastbound lane was made at that moment, soon after the westbound lanes were also closed.”

He said the eastbound Causeway was closed at the Bankhead Tunnel forcing eastbound traffic to access the Interstate 10 Bayway. The westbound Causeway was closed for both directions to avoid flooded areas.

The ramps at the midpoint or “Midbay” area of the Causeway were also closed to traffic at approximately 12 p.m.

“It’s our understanding that several businesses, restaurants along the Causeway were serving lunch and vehicles leaving those businesses may have added to the amount of traffic at the time,” Gordon said. “In addition, there were still several vehicles beyond the closure point that were faced with decisions on how to proceed.”

Some of the area’s TV stations ran live videos of the scene, showing the rising waters of the Mobile Bay and vehicles in the water.

Commenters on WPMI’s website responded:

• Why haven’t they closed the causeway. Dangerous
• … should have been shut down by mid morning. Everyone knew (we) were anticipating flooding conditions.
• And yet people keep driving through. DOT knew (we) were possibly getting flooding rains. They should have blocked the road by mid-morning. Now all of these drivers have messed up cars.

Two vehicles remained stranded on the Causeway Thursday morning, and Gordon confirmed they were “apparently disabled and, after further inquiry, it was determined that those vehicles did not stall but rather the drivers attempted to make U-turns and ended up stranded on the nearby median.”

He said ALDOT “has no way of knowing the number of vehicles damaged during the event.”

No injuries were reported.

Gordon said motorists have a responsibility to use good judgement before perusing through the flooded Causeway.

“ALDOT, as do all departments of transportation, preach the ‘Turn Around Don’t Drown’ slogan,” Gordon said. “People underestimate the force and power of water. It takes 12 inches of rushing water to carry away most cars and just 2 feet of water can carry away SUV’s and trucks. It is never safe to drive or walk into flood waters.”

Gordon said that ALDOT plans to conduct a debriefing of the storm event and identify areas of improvement.

But he said that the Causeway’s condition or ability to withstand severe weather is not part of the scope of planning the agency is undertaking for the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project. That project, estimated to cost between $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion, is on a 60-day hold as ALDOT officials examine ways to reduce costs.

“The Causeway has endured many storm events,” said Matt Ericksen, lead engineer for ALDOT’s Southwest Region. “While ALDOT continues to look for ways to ensure the sustainability of the Causeway, the Causeway’s condition, or ability to withstand severe weather is not part of the scope in the planning stage for the Mobile River Bridge project.”

The Causeway, a 7-mile extension of U.S. 98/90 between Mobile and Spanish Fort, could see more traffic diverted to it during and after the construction of a new I-10 Bayway.

Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan has, for years, pushed ALDOT to develop a plan for the Causeway that assesses traffic during and after the construction of the new Bayway, which is expected to be a tolled route.

McMillan’s desires that any increased traffic on the Causeway does not negatively impact Spanish Fort. The Causeway’s current average daily traffic count is 26,709 vehicles near the “Midbay” point where flooding is frequent during high surf. The I-10 Bayway, by contrast, draws 67,936 vehicles each day, according to ALDOT’s figures.

One of McMillan’s long concerns is that once the Bayway project is completed, the tolled interstate is likely to create some sort of diversion of vehicular traffic from I-10 to the Causeway – which the only other east-west highway between Mobile and the Eastern Shore.

As proposed, the tolls for motorists using the future I-10 will be $5.50 one-way if they do not use an ALGO Pass. For motorists with a pass, the toll will be $2.50. The Causeway and other existing infrastructure, like the Wallace and Bankhead tunnels, will be untolled.