Estimates for the Interstate 10 Mobile River Bridge & Bayway project, the state’s most expensive road project in history, have ballooned to a range of $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion, according to an update Friday in which officials confirmed they are exploring new cost-savings options.

The Alabama Department of Transportation and the Mobile and Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organizations, in a joint announcement, said they will take the next 60 days to review the “cost-saving options for constructing” the I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project “to minimize the effects of inflation.”

The project consists of a new six-lane, 215-foot-tall cable-stay bridge in downtown Mobile connected to an elevated and expanded Bayway. The new, six-lane Bayway will run 7.4 miles and connect Mobile to the U.S. 98 exit in Daphne.

The project’s main purpose is to alleviate frequent bottlenecks on I-10, especially during heavy travel seasons that bring tourists to Alabama and Florida beaches. The interstate averages more than 78,000 vehicles per day west of the Wallace Tunnel in downtown Mobile, and the worries exist that more than 95,000 vehicles will be traveling along the interstate in less than 20 years.

“We all hoped the next significant step would be the setting of a timeline for moving to construction within the 2024 calendar year,” said ALDOT Chief Engineer Ed Austin. “However, all the information accumulated at this point has convinced us of the need for deeper review and study. This review will take at least 60 days before we can determine the next steps forward.”

The project, once estimated at $2.7 billion, is now coming in with a projected cost range of $2.8 billion to $3.5 billion that is “due to increases in construction, material, and labor prices” since 2020. The original targeted completion date is 2028, but an ALDOT spokesman said the project is anticipated to take five years to be built once construction commences.

Austin said during the next two months, the state plans to assess and refine the latest construction costs estimates and methods of long-term financing, current market forces, and the potential for identifying funding to include federal options, among other things.

The project has long been proposed to be built with a heavy reliance on financing that included $1.2 billion through bonding and $1.1 billion through federal loans under the Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovation Act (TIFIA).

The project has limited dedicated funds. In 2019, a $125 million federal grant was secured through former U.S. Senator Richard Shelby’s office. Another $250 million is dedicated through state funding.

The state is continuing to pursue grant opportunities and has plans to reapply for a U.S. DOT Mega grant. ALDOT, in previous grant applications, has requested $500 million. The Mega grant program is funded through the bipartisan infrastructure package passed by Congress in 2021.

Despite not getting any grant money, the I-10 project has been categorized by the federal government as one of 13 projects eligible for “project-specific targeted technical assistance” from the U.S. DOT’s Build America Bureau.

Tolling has been a major component of the project since its inception, and that has created some controversy as its evolved. Under the current plan, users 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 pass discount will also be available.

The Spanish Fort Causeway and existing Wallace or Bankhead tunnels would not be tolled.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, in a statement, said the project is nearly “shovel ready” but acknowledges the sensitive costs involved.

“This project, like other construction projects around the country, faces the headwinds of inflation and interest rates,” Stimpson said. “It is a wise choice for ALDOT to take time to refine cost estimates and look at additional funding options.”

Fairhope City Councilman Jack Burrell, the chairman of the Eastern Shore MPO, said the project has to be built in “a fiscally responsible manner.”

“I am frustrated with the lack of additional federal funding, and I am frustrated that inflation and interest rates remain high,” he said in a statement. “ALDOT is making the right decision to drill down as much as possible to keep the project on track and within the framework.”

The project was removed from the state’s transportation plans in 2019, amid public uproar in Baldwin County over tolls and a previous public-private partnership arrangement to build the project. It was added back into the plans in late 2021, when both MPOs adopted a framework calling for ALDOT to build a six-lane Mobile River Bridge and a new Bayway, along with interchanges.

The framework also requires the existing routes between the two counties to remain free from tolling, and for tolls on the new infrastructure to be no more than $2.50 for passenger vehicles.

Burrell said “the strongest point” the Eastern Shore MPO has made toward ALDOT is to “stay within the parameters” agreed upon by the two MPOs.

Design-build contractors have been selected, archaeological surveys completed, and design and geotechnical work has been initiated, according to ALDOT. All public right-of-way to build the project has been acquired.

Austin praised the efforts of local officials to keep the project moving despite the past hiccups.

“It has allowed for significant progress to be made,” he said. “But between increases in inflation and interest rates, it is frustrating but not surprising that project estimates are rising. Every major construction project in the country is being affected by economic factors, so it makes sense to work with local officials and explore potential cost-saving measures.”