Construction resumed Monday on a bridge to Alabama’s beach cities that has been the subject of a months-long legal case over whether the head of the state’s transportation department negotiated in “bad faith” with the operators of a nearby toll bridge.

The construction work on two-lane bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway in Gulf Shores is restarted, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation. The contractors, the Scott Bridge Co., is back on the site for the first time since May, when the project was shut down after a Montgomery County Court judge’s injunction put it on a temporary hold.

“We’re pleased to see Scott Bridge Co. back at work but are disappointed we have lost over four months of construction time since the shutdown, through a period of some of the best weather we’ve seen, for no valid reason,” Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said in a statement.

The project’s restart occurs after the Alabama State Supreme Court rejected a request from the Baldwin County Bridge Company – the owners and operators of the Foley Beach Express toll bridge adjacent to The Wharf in Orange Beach – to have their case reheard.

The Supreme Court ruled on August 25 that Montgomery County Court Judge Jimmie Pool did not have the authority to halt the construction of the Gulf Shores bridge, and reversed the preliminary injunction that halted the bridge’s construction. The Gulf Shores bridge will be located approximately 1.1 miles west of the BCBC toll bridge.

Pool decided, after a seven-day bench trial in May, that ALDOT Director John Cooper negotiated in bad faith with BCBC over an alternative plan that included an expanded lane over the existing toll bridge. But the Supreme Court, citing the 1901 Alabama State Constitution, claimed that Pool did not have jurisdiction to make the ruling based on Cooper’s immunity as a state agent.

“With the Baldwin County Bridge Company’s request for a rehearing denied and the Supreme Court’s previous ruling in favor of ALDOT now finalized, ALDOT’s bridge contractor – Scott Bridge Company — has been directed to resume work immediately,” a statement sent by ALDOT on Friday reads.

The Supreme Court’s decision (on Friday) is a victory for ALDOT’s effort to complete a toll-free bridge that will reduce traffic congestion to and from Alabama’s Gulf Coast beach communities,” the statement reads. “We are gratified that the Court ruled in our favor so we can get back to work on a project that is sorely needed.”

It’s unclear how long the construction project will last. The original contract’s completion date has not been updated, and there is no adjusted finishing date that has been made available.

It’s also unclear on the adjusted costs for the project, a point of contention during the legal hearings in Montgomery.

A $52 million contract was awarded to the Scott Bridge Company last October to build the new structure, though estimates for the complete project are expected to be around $120 million.

In Orange Beach, Mayor Tony Kennon – who has argued that the Gulf Shores bridge will not reduce traffic on Alabama State Route 59, or elsewhere on the beach – said a looming issue awaits on whether there will be any improvements to the toll bridge. He said he doesn’t anticipate any from BCBC, and noted that once ALDOT’s project is completed, “we’ll have to deal with traffic issues and with a diversion of traffic in unpredictable manners.”

BCBC, less than one week after the Supreme Court’s decision, increased its toll rates from $2.75 per one-way trip over the bridge to $5.

Kennon said he knows there “are a lot of people upset” over the toll increases – which he has emphasized was not a decision made by the City of Orange Beach.

But Kennon said there are discounts for frequent users. Electronic rates for prepaid accounts holders – the rates paid by many South Baldwin County residents – increased last month by 20 cents, to an average of $2.22. The discounted electronic rates for Orange Beach residents remains at a flat $1.