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[Alex]

Baldwin County officials discuss new plan for Baldwin Beach Express

BAY MINETTE, Alabama -- Baldwin County commissioners spent several hours Tuesday discussing new plans to move ahead with an effort to connect the Baldwin Beach Express to Interstates 10 and 65.

Officials met with representatives of five area firms that would split the $114 million project, which would include $7.5 million in engineering costs.

Under the plans, engineering firms would begin work in mid-December on Phase I of the project, which includes setting up rights of way.

The 25-mile stretch of proposed roadway runs through 80 parcels belonging to a total of 37 landowners. County Engineer Cal Markert said purchasing rights of way would cost about $8 million more.

[codyg1985]

^ Firms splitting the cost of the project? So it is going to be a tolled facility?I thought it was going to be a four lane expressway with at grade intersections.

[Alex]

Drove Baldwin County 83 north from U.S. 90 to County Road 64 today to check out the status of road work for the Baldwin Beach Express. CR-83 shifts from one carriageway to another on the drive, with traffic using a new northbound span of Davis Branch near U.S. 90. The angled portion at CR-64 is now the default route of CR-83, with two-way traffic using the future southbound carriageway. CR-83 at CR-64 is closed now, with the angled alignment defaulting as the connection between the two county roads. Photos:



County Road 83/Baldwin Beach Express southbound at the current end with U.S. 90. Some asphalt is in place south of the intersection, but road work is yet underway beyond the tree line.



Looking north at the Baldwin Beach Express from U.S. 90 toward the crossing of Davis Branch of the Blackwater River. Traffic shifts from the northbound carriageway to the southbound one beyond the 2011-date-stamped bridge.



CR-83 shield posted on the Baldwin Beach Express southbound as it leaves CR-64. A cotton field lies north of the intersection, as work on the four-lane road to Interstate 10 will be built under an ALDOT contract (who knows when that will happen...).

[Alex]

Also drove the new four-laned section of Alabama 181 (between US 90 and County Road 64) today. The road varies between having a curbed median or a center turn lane. Speed limits on the arterial range between 45 and 55 mph. Photos:



Heading south, AL-181 includes a narrow grassy median, but that quickly transitions into a center turn lane ahead of the signalized intersection with Lawson Road. Mileposts were added to the state route recently as well.



New guide sign (in Highway Gothic new less) for the AL-181 intersection with CR-64. Mast-arm signals are present at Lawson Rd, Pleasant Rd, and CR-64.

[Alex]

Baldwin County clears first Scenic Byway hurdle for Tensaw Parkway

The proposal includes Alabama 225 and a portion of Alabama 59.

[Alex]

Truck route plans roll on in Bay Minette

Plans to install a truck-bypass route in Bay Minette seem to be on track.

During last week’s regular North Baldwin Utilities Board meeting, Mayor Jamie Tillery announced that the City Council recently voted to have a contractor draw up a proposal that would be presented to the Alabama Department of Transportation.

"It’ll slow down traffic on that square, which will go from four lanes to two lanes with a center turning lane," Tillery said.

[Alex]

State wants to build bridge over Gulf State Park in Orange Beach

The state hopes to partner with the builders of the Foley Beach Express to construct an elevated bridge over Gulf Sate Park that would give beach traffic a straight shot to the Gulf, Mayor Tony Kennon said Tuesday night during the city’s town hall meeting.

The bridge, dubbed the Cross Island Parkway by some, would start at Ala. 182, or Perdido Beach Boulevard, behind a power substation Tipseas Restaurant. The bridge would then travel over the park’s wildlife area and part of a lake, and drop motorists onto Canal Road at the entrance to the Foley Beach Express.

The elevated roadway would follow Collegiate Lane, or what locals call Power Line Road, a dirt road that is used by eight different utilities, according to Ken Grimes, city administrator.

The project would be funded by ALDOT and the bridge builders, according to Kennon. The state would take the $15 million to $18 million it was going to spend on widening Canal Road to five lanes, and put it into building the bridge, according to Kennon.

[codyg1985]

And, the Foley Beach Express tollbooth at the Intracoastal Waterway near the Wharf would most likely be relocated near Baldwin County 20 and the Express, Kennon said.

So that means you can shunpike it if this happens? Or will they upgrade the remainder of the FBE to a freeway?

[Alex]

Plan for bridge over Gulf State Park draws environmental concerns

[Alex]

State funding could help south Baldwin County traffic bypass efforts

One project that might be ready to submit this month would be widening Baldwin County 20 from Ala. 59 west, Mayor John Koniar said.

That project is part of a long-range plan to have a ring of roads that would allow traffic to be funneled around Foley and not have to pass through the downtown business district, Mike Thompson, city administrator said.

He said the Foley Beach Express now moves traffic east of the city to Baldwin County 20. Baldwin 20 was widened to five lanes from the Beach Express west to Ala. 59, just south of the Tanger Outlet Center.

Thompson said the final goal is to widen Baldwin 20 west to Baldwin County 65.

Other projects include extending Fern Avenue east across Ala. 59 and widening McKenzie Avenue.

[lamsalfl]

I loathe 5 lane roads with those center left turn lanes.  How ugly.

[Alex]

Road to nowhere: U.S. 98 project in Mobile remains unfinished

Alaska has its bridge to nowhere. And it looks like Mobile will keep a road to nowhere for at least another five to 10 years.

Given the price tag of more than $80 million for a still-unfinished 8-mile stretch that runs from the Mississippi line to Big Creek Lake, state officials said it may be a decade before the final 4 miles of the U.S. Highway 98 project are completed.

After major environmental problems developed on the first 8-mile section, which is now more than $40 million over budget, state officials went back to the drawing board to redesign the final four-mile stretch. The goal is to make the roadway more environmentally friendly.

As part of settling the lawsuits, transportation officials agreed to take extra precautions and redesign parts of the roadway, including the missing four-mile stretch that will link U.S. 98 at the Mississippi line to Interstate 65 in Saraland.

Instead of using one bridge and long dirt causeways to traverse miles of wetlands, the new plan calls for 11 bridges, according to Tony Harris, spokesman for the transportation department. Harris said the agency hopes to have the new plans for the roadway completed sometime in 2012.

After that, the project will have to pass environmental review, then be sent out for bids from contractors. Once all that is completed, construction will take about four and a half years, Harris said.

[Alex]

Second roundabout proposed for Eastern Shore

The intersection of Baldwin County 64 and 13 could be turned into the second roundabout on the Eastern Shore under a proposal by Baldwin County government and city of Daphne officials.

“The county has been pushing the roundabout,” said Richard Johnson, Daphne public works director. The $630,000 project appears on the city’s list of road projects for which it would seek money in October from the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program.

[Alex]

Sometime this year, a sign was added to Interstate 10 westbound just beyond the welcome sign proclaiming the Alabama freeway the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway.

Drove Baldwin County 83 yesterday to see what progress has been made on construction of the Baldwin Beach Express. The future southbound carriageway (which follows the original roadway) was paved and widened to add partial shoulders since our last visit in November. Once CR-83 approaches Davis Branch, the road shifts to the 2011-completed (future northbound) bridge.



The original bridge was demolished and a new one is currently under construction.

Otherwise some noticeable land clearing south of U.S. 90, and final paving is still underway along the future northbound carriageway (as it was in November).



This the last surviving button copy sign in southwest Alabama. It is posted ahead of the Claiborne Street on-ramp to Interstate 10 east near downtown Mobile.

[SSF]

That same "Vietnam War Memorial Highway" sign is on eastbound, i want to say right before the Tillman's Corner construction zone.

[Alex]

Baldwin commissioners ok $3.6 million start for Beach Express phase II

Baldwin County commissioners decided in a series of 2-1 split votes Tuesday to launch phase 2 of the Baldwin Beach Express project at an immediate cost of $3.68 million.

[Alex]

That same "Vietnam War Memorial Highway" sign is on eastbound, i want to say right before the Tillman's Corner construction zone.

Saw the sign today, it is posted near the Alabama welcome center, which is closed until late May incidentally.



Base pavement for the I-10 Mobile County widening is laid east from the beginning of road work ahead of Exit 17 through to the US 90 under crossing.

[US71]

That same "Vietnam War Memorial Highway" sign is on eastbound, i want to say right before the Tillman's Corner construction zone.

Saw the sign today, it is posted near the Alabama welcome center, which is closed until late May incidentally.

There's a temporary Welcome Center on 90 West

[Alex]

Gulf Shores' Little Lagoon bridge work could start this fall

Construction on a new bridge at Little Lagoon pass and a redesign of the channel could start in late fall and take almost two years to complete, according to state officials.

The estimated $8 million project must still get environmental approval from the Federal Highway Administration, according to Vince Calametti, division engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation in Mobile.

The new two-lane bridge will be wider at 80 feet across, to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians crossing the bridge. The height will be the same, the old piling walls will be replaced and a walkway will be built underneath the bridge to allow folks to walk from the parking lot to the beach.

The bridge to be replaced is three miles west of Alabama 182's junction with Alabama 59:

[Alex]

Seems like the entities that would win out in this arrangement is itraffic and the state...

Prichard looking to speeders to increase city revenue

Prichard is counting on thousands of speeders to generate new revenue for the city, pay for six police officers and help curb crime, Mayor Ron Davis said Wednesday.

An analysis by iTraffic, a company working with the city, suggests that city police ought to be able to write as many as 3,000 speeding tickets per month.

Police now write about 100 monthly.

Gardner said that the problem is particularly bad on Interstate 165 and Interstate 65 in the city, where the posted limit is 65 mph, and along the major arteries of St. Stephens, Shelton Beach and Lott roads.

The average speeding ticket carries a fine of $156. Of that, Prichard receives $35. The rest goes to other state agencies including the court system.

Under the new arrangement, iTraffic and the city would each get would $17.50.

[agentsteel53]

Prichard looking to corruption to increase city revenue

fixed that headline for ya.

that said, carjacking people and selling their property is probably a quicker way to generate revenue.  Prichard should look into that.

[Alex]

Road work on Interstate 10, U.S. 98 planned after beach season

The first section of the I-10 resurfacing will be from Ala. 59 to Wilcox Road and is scheduled for just after Labor Day when the busiest part of the summer beach season will be over, Calametti said. The cost is $12.1 million.

“Most of it is going to be done at night,” Calametti said.

But, because of damage from heavy trucks, lanes in one section will have to be closed for four days at a time, for removal of five inches of asphalt, he said.

The closings are expected to be from Sundays to Thursdays on four separate occasions, he said. Further details will be announced once the closings are set.

In several months, the department plans to take bids for I-10 resurfacing between Ala. 59 and U.S. 98, he said. Final plans have not been made.

One more change expected “pretty soon,” is an increase in the speed limit on Ala. 181 from U.S. 90 south to the Daphne limits, Calametti said. The speed limit would go from 45 mph to 55 mph.

During the long-running project to four-lane Ala. 181 to just past Baldwin County 64 in Belforest, speed limits were set to accommodate construction work. “There was a lot of confusion about those speed limits,” Calametti said.

The highway department did a formal study of 181 and concluded that 55 mph was appropriate. Calametti said the change will go into effect as soon as the necessary paperwork is completed.

[Alex]

Baldwin County 36 to close for two months

The Baldwin County Highway Department has announced plans to close Baldwin County 36 on Tuesday.

The closure, which will take place at the Baldwin County 83 intersection, is necessary to complete intersection improvements for the Baldwin Beach Express project, according to a news release from the Highway Department.

Officials say the road closure will last approximately two months.

Looking at the detour map, this is to link the north end of the existing Baldwin Beach Express from Foley with the southern extent of County Road 83.

[SSF]

The EB I-10 welcome center was still closed Thursday night, that makes it almost two weeks late in opening up.

[Alex]

The new light just south of Old Shell Road along University Boulevard. Why they write "less than a mile" is beyond me. It is a lot closer than that and likely will add to the craze of blowing red lights through this area with so many signals now in use.

Another red light: This time near one of state's most dangerous intersections

The traffic signal, located south of Old Shell Road near an entrance to a former strip mall now owned by the University of South Alabama, was required because of the amount of traffic that will be created when the large apartment complex opens, city officials said.

Council woman Bess Rich said she was told by traffic engineers that lights will be timed together, or coordinated, to ease traffic problems as much as possible.