Shelby To Be Honored With Naming Ceremony

The City of Mobile will honor retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby with the dedication of an area near the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center as “Shelby Point,” AL.com reports. Shelby’s strong ties to the Port of Mobile will be underscored and highlighted during what is likely his final visit to Mobile as a U.S. Senator on December 9 at 3 p.m. The location overlooks the Mobile River in Downtown Mobile, a key site within the Port of Mobile’s boundaries. Among his many accomplishments that helped bring federal funds to the area in his 36 years as Alabama’s longest-serving U.S. Senator is his recent securing of $100 million to benefit the Port of Mobile and support a new commercial airport at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. Earlier in his career, he secured the necessary federal funds to pursue the current $366-million deepening and widening of the Mobile ship channel at the port. Shelby continues to be bullish on Mobile, recently praising the growing port and its adjacent transportation resource—five Class 1 railroads such as the CSX mainline, Interstates 10 and 65, and the industry at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley—for what he believes offers the coastal regions a bright future.