Update on the I-10 Bridge and Bayway Project: ALDOT set to apply for federal loan that could cover nearly half of the project costs) - The State of Alabama is trying to secure a federal loan that could be just what the state needs to kick off thesince costs have skyrocketed. Local and state officials have been talking to the feds on how they can secure the right funding to move forward.
“That would be a big shot in the arm for this project if we could get half of this financed, lower than we could probably get other market rates,” added Burrell.‘With the Bridge Improvement Program and with the Mega Grant Program, we’re going to apply for all of that,” he said. Meanwhile, Alabama State Senator Chris Elliot says while he’s encouraged by the news that the project is moving forward, he believes it still has a long way to go.
“It’s moving in a good direction, but we are, admittedly, in a different posture than we were probably 6 months ago when we were gung-ho and we were going to build this and now we’re in a ‘let’s stop, let’s see where all this funding is coming from. The cost has ballooned and so there are a lot of pieces that are going to have fall in just right in order to make this work,” said Elliot.Wesley Flowers, a Mobile native, says he hopes if it’s built, they do it correctly.
“Mobile Bay has some weird navigation and nautical hazards and issues that you’ve got to think about and building a bridge in Mobile Bay is not the same as building a bridge over Tampa Bay. It’s a lot of space, it’s a lot of traffic- you’ve got the intermodal traffic, you’ve got to be able to handle all of that, too,” said Flowers.2 shark attacks injure 3 people in Walton County, Fla.