ALDOT Announces Mobile Bridge Short List
Just days after announcing that preliminary pile-driving is set to begin on the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, the Alabama Department of Transportation announced the three joint ventures that have made its short list to become private partner on the $1 billion job.
Four partnerships entered Submittals of Qualifications for the project in November after ALDOT put out a call for potential private partners. Three made the agency’s short list, which was originally to be announced in mid-January but was pushed back to Wednesday (Feb. 6).
The Short List
The three joint ventures still in the running are:
The contract is expected to follow the design-build-finance-operate-maintain model, and ALDOT projects a total cost between $800 million and $1.8 billion.
The short list was chosen by the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which will oversee the project.
Pile Driving Begins
ALDOT announced late last week that pile driving will begin Feb. 12 for exploratory purposes; the initial pile-driving activity, set to run through late May, will help to inform the final design chosen for the project.
ALDOT is proposing a cable-stayed span over the Mobile River that will provide 215-foot navigational clearance, enough to allow large cruise ships and the so-called New Panamax cargo vessels.
The current Bayway is a set of twin concrete viaduct structures that stretch 7.5 miles across Mobile Bay. According to ALDOT’s plans, the existing four-lane Bayway would be replaced with an eight-lane system that would be built above the 100-year storm surge level. The Wallace Tunnel would remain open to connect the Bayway to downtown Mobile, while the new bridge would allow I-10 traffic to bypass downtown.
