Toll Bridge Proposed To Ease Mobile Tunnel Traffic

If you have ever been caught in vacation traffic on I-10 at the tunnel in Mobile Alabama then listen up we might have a solution to that nightmare traffic problem for you. However, it will cost you.

An idea is being floated around Mobile and South Alabama that would do away with the Mobile Tunnel and the "Jubilee Parkway" or "Bay Way" as the twin span bridges that lead out of the tunnel and across Mobile Bay are called. If approved those bottlenecks for vacation travelers would give way to a brand new eight-lane bridge that takes all the tunnel tie-ups and merging mishaps out of the question.

The cost of this project is estimated to be $2.1 billion. Guess who they think will be willing to pay that money? If you said us, as in the "us" that would use the roadway to get to the beaches in Florida then you would be correct.  The public/private partnership would require a toll of $6 each way to use the structure, at least if the current plans are approved.

In case you were wondering the George C. Wallace Tunnel was opened in 1973. It was designed to handle 36,000 cars per day. Currently, officials estimate over 100,000 cars travel through the tunnel every day. So, you can see it's been obsolete for quite some time.

So, how do you feel about a proposed toll bridge on the way to the beach? Personally, I would be willing to pay the toll without batting an eye. The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, The Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge, and the tunnel in Mobile are three of my biggest deterrents when it comes to traveling to Florida. If I could eliminate one of those issues for $12 bucks, $6 each way, then sign me up.