“Take the Causeway” is a common phrase heard by coastal Alabama residents seeking an alternative route to the oft-congested Interstate 10 Bayway.

The phrase is so common that it served as the inspirational namesake for a popular craft beer produced in Fairhope.

But for Spanish Fort Mayor Mike McMillan, the picturesque 7-mile extension of U.S. 98/90 between his city and Mobile could face a perilous future if a management plan is not executed and advanced by state transportation officials.

The worry is so significant that it could threaten the unanimous support the Alabama Department of Transportation has enjoyed for more than a year on the proposed $2.7 billion I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project.

“We cannot keep going down this road without developing a plan for the Causeway,” McMillan told AL.com recently, emphasizing a request he made over a year ago when the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization’s policy committee – which consists of mayors and other elected officials along the Eastern Shore – voted to place the I-10 project back into its long- and short-term plans.

Seeking answers

The new I-10 project includes the construction of a new 215-foot-tall cable-stay bridge in Mobile that connects to an elevated and expanded new Bayway. The six-lane Bayway will then run 7.4 miles, connecting downtown Mobile to Daphne.

The project’s overall scope does not include any noticeable improvements to the 96-year-old Causeway.

“I am looking for a Causeway plan,” McMillan said. “How do we prepare for the influx of cars when (construction crews) are on the Bayway? You got to improve what you do have.”

He added, “I bring this up at every (MPO) meeting. This needs to be done prior to the Bayway (project commencing). We keep getting promises, but nothing is happening.”

Tony Harris, spokesman with ALDOT, said the state is working on solutions.

“We share Mayor McMillan’s desire to ensure that any increased Causeway traffic doesn’t negatively impact Spanish Fort,” Harris said in a statement to AL.com. “We continue to work with him on a comprehensive solution and appreciate his efforts to address congestion in Spanish Fort.”

McMillian’s concerns are expressed by other members of the Eastern Shore MPO, who have embraced ALDOT’s renewed plans for I-10 for more than a year. The same committee shot down a previous I-10 plan in 2019, amid vocal outcry from the public against a prior toll plan and a public-private partnership arrangement to build the structure.

“We all support Mayor McMillan and the need for a plan,” said Fairhope City Councilman Jack Burrell, who is chairman of the Eastern Shore MPO’s policy committee.

One of the concerns is that the newly constructed Bayway, when completed around 2028, will be a tolled interstate that is likely to create some sort of diversion of vehicular traffic from I-10 to the Causeway – which is the only other east-west highway between Mobile and the Eastern Shore.

As proposed, the tolls for motorists who do not purchase an ALGO Pass, will be $5.50 one-way. For motorists with an ALGO Pass, the toll will be $2.50. The Causeway and other existing infrastructure, like the Wallace and Bankhead tunnels, will be untolled.

“We do recognize that when there is a toll route and a free route, a lot of locals will opt to take that free route,” Burrell said. “We think it’s wise to look forward and alleviate some of that before it becomes a problem.”

Planned improvements

The MPO’s short-term plan – referred to as the “Transportation Improvement Plan” – includes around $2 million for an intersection improvement at U.S. 31, U.S. 90/98, and the Spanish Main intersection adjacent to P.J.’s Coffee.

Also funded in the short-term plan is a $367,854 Causeway access management plan and signalization from the Bankhead Tunnel to Spanish Fort.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’s administration, through an annual Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 appropriations last month, set aside $3 million for Causeway improvements. The GOMESA money comes from revenues the state receives each year from offshore oil and gas leases.

McMillan said he wants to see progress move from plans to action, noting that the Causeway needs additional lanes, improved lighting and the start of environmental work that might be needed to do any major construction work through the delicate river delta that surrounds the Causeway.

McMillan also told The Lede’s Maggie Kates that he is worried about future vehicle crashes on the new I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway forcing emergency detours off the interstate to the Causeway, and into Spanish Fort.

The Causeway was first opened in 1927 or 45 years before the I-10 Bayway was opened in 1978. It is home to the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, and a lively array of seafood restaurants.

“(ALDOT) has to get moving on something for us,” he said. “I am not going to allow Spanish Fort to catch the brunt of not improving the Causeway.”