Three months after a prior trip was cancelled, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will be in Mobile Thursday to discuss an array of transportation issues, including the proposed $850 million I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway expansion project.
U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, who has coordinated Foxx’s visit, is also assembling local elected officials and business leaders to discuss the bridge project and funding options.
Specifically, Foxx will begin his day in the Port City with a 9 a.m. breakfast at the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and will conclude with a 11:15 a.m. press conference at Mobile’s APM Terminals, located at 901 Ezra Trice Blvd.
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“Having a reliable transportation system is critical to our nation’s economic success, and Congress must get serious about finding a long-term funding solution for our highway program. I am committed to being a part of finding that solution,” Byrne wrote in February.
“I know about the need for four-laning Highway 84, which runs through Monroe and Clarke counties. I’ve heard from multiple officials about the need for widening Highway 45 in north Mobile and Washington counties to make the road safer. In Baldwin County, Highway 181 on the Eastern Shore and the Baldwin Beach Express are both pressing needs. There is also a major need for four-laning US 31 from Flomaton to Bay Minette,” Byrne wrote, adding, “Without a doubt, a new I-10 Bridge over the Mobile River is the most important transportation project for Southwest Alabama. Anyone who has driven on Interstate 10 during rush hour or on a Friday afternoon in the summer can likely attest to major traffic issues caused by the Wallace Tunnel. This project would boost our area’s economic competitiveness, provide a safe Hurricane Evacuation Route for the entire Gulf Coast, and boost tourism.”
Foxx, the former mayor of Charlotte, N.C., is the second transportation secretary in the Obama Administration to visit the Port City. Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood came in September 2012.
LaHood, while in Mobile, said the I-10 Bridge would “absolutely happen” and that Washington, D.C. would help area leaders find the resources to make it happen.
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