State To Purchase Foley Bridge, Remove Toll

The Foley Beach Express bridge is to be bought by the state, its toll is going away, and the bridge will be eventually paired with a new bridge under construction in Gulf Shores for two one-way bridges, AL.com reports. The transaction, which includes an investment in road work in Orange Beach, is for $60 million and is to take place in May. The money, earmarked for congestion relief, is coming from the fuel-tax-based Rebuild Alabama Act. The bridge’s southbound and northbound traffic will continue until 2026, when preliminary plans call for it to be converted to carry northbound traffic, with a new Alabama Department of Transportation bridge carrying southbound traffic. The entire route from Interstate 10 will become a state highway named State Route 161. Baldwin County Bridge Co. owns the bridge and raised the standard toll from $2.75 per trip to $5 last year, when more than 5.6 million vehicles used it.