Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday, September 18, 2026, announced a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan of up to $2.52 billion for the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project on Interstate 10. The loan goes to the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge, and Tunnel Authority, with the Alabama Department of Transportation building and managing the work. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy called it the largest infrastructure project in Alabama history and said the I-10 rebuild is meant to cut travel times by up to 30 minutes after the new span opens.
That financing close is the decision point for drivers who use I-10 between Mobile and Baldwin County this fall: construction is now positioned to start next month, while the George Wallace Tunnel and other existing crossings stay open and toll-free. If you are routing a Gulf trip through this corridor, start with a current Gulf Shores itinerary and treat October as the month when lane patterns on the Bayway can change.
- Loan: Up to $2.52 billion in TIFIA credit, announced September 18, 2026, by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
- Start window: ALDOT intends to begin construction next month, with a ceremonial groundbreaking still to be set, per FOX10’s September 18 report.
- Phase One: A new six-lane cable-stayed bridge over the Mobile River, Bayway restriping to three lanes each way, and interchange work in Mobile and Baldwin counties.
- Tolls: None until the new bridge opens, now projected around 2031. Wallace Tunnel, Bankhead Tunnel, the Causeway, and Africatown Bridge remain free.
- After opening: DOT projects up to 30 minutes saved on the completed corridor; hazmat trucks gain a direct interstate path instead of downtown Mobile detours.
Federal Loan Closes Alabama’s Last Financing Gap
Governor Kay Ivey said the loan is the final piece the state needed for a project that has sat in planning for decades. The Build America Bureau is lending up to $2.52 billion under TIFIA. FOX10 reported that Alabama has also secured private financing for the rest of the $3.2 billion Phase One budget, which matches the figure ALDOT published when it split the job into two phases in July.
Phase One is the only work funded to start now. It covers the new six-lane cable-stayed bridge, reconstruction of about one mile of the existing Bayway, restriping of the full 7.5-mile Bayway from two lanes to three lanes in each direction, and interchange and traffic-flow work on both sides of Mobile Bay. Phase Two, a replacement Bayway structure, waits on later funding and future toll revenue. Drivers should not expect a brand-new Bayway in this first wave.
The borrower is the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge, and Tunnel Authority, not a private concession that takes over the Wallace Tunnel. ALDOT remains the builder. That split matters for anyone watching whether the existing free tunnels stay in public hands: the September 18 notice does not transfer those crossings, and ALDOT’s July project notice says they remain toll-free after the new bridge opens.
October Construction Calendar for I-10 Drivers
FOX10, citing ALDOT, said the department intends to begin construction next month and to hold a ceremonial groundbreaking soon. That matches ALDOT’s July notice, which said a revised two-phase plan would let construction begin before the end of 2026 once the TIFIA loan was approved. The September 18 announcement is that approval.
Expect the first visible traveler effects on the Bayway, not an overnight tunnel shutdown. While the new river span is built, the contracting team will restripe the existing Bayway so three lanes can run in each direction. That is a cheaper substitute for the original plan to build a higher, wider Bayway at the same time. FOX10 noted the new cable-stayed bridge is designed to rise 215 feet over the Mobile River. Until that span opens, I-10 still uses the Wallace Tunnel and the current Bayway.
ALDOT has described a roughly five-year Phase One build, with the new bridge projected to open around 2031. That is a planning horizon, not a weekend closure. Through travelers heading for Gulf Coast beaches should still use I-10, but they should watch for lane shifts, temporary barriers, and slower average speeds once crews mobilize in October. Local commuters who already crawl through the Wallace Tunnel in peak hours will keep doing so until the new bridge carries traffic.
Tolls Stay Off Until 2031, With Free Alternatives
ALDOT’s July project notice is still the current public toll schedule. No tolls are collected until the new Mobile River Bridge opens, projected around 2031. For a standard vehicle, ALDOT listed a $60 unlimited monthly commuter pass, about $1.36 per trip for a daily user, a $7.70 per-trip rate with a compatible interoperable transponder, and pay-by-plate billing for drivers without a transponder. ALGO transponders are expected to be free during the initial rollout.
The same notice keeps four existing crossings free after opening: the George Wallace Tunnel, the Bankhead Tunnel, the Causeway, and the Africatown Bridge. That is the practical answer for anyone who does not want a toll in 2031. The new bridge is an added, priced option, not a replacement that forces every I-10 trip onto a paid deck.
Do not treat 2026 hotel or beach bookings as a toll event. A family driving to Pensacola this fall still uses the current free I-10 path. The cost decision is later: whether to buy an ALGO pass before 2031, budget $7.70 per crossing with another transponder, or stay on the free tunnels and Causeway. ALDOT has not published a 2026 collection date because there is none.
George Wallace Tunnel Bottleneck and Hurricane Routes
DOT’s September 18 notice names the problem the new bridge is built to fix. The George Wallace Tunnel is Alabama’s worst traffic bottleneck. Hazardous-materials trucks are banned from the tunnel, so hundreds of those trucks detour through downtown Mobile and nearby neighborhoods every day. The new interstate bridge is designed to give those vehicles a through route on I-10 instead of city streets.
The same package is framed as a hurricane-evacuation upgrade. DOT said interchange, intersection, and traffic-flow work in Mobile and Baldwin counties will support the new bridge and the extra Bayway capacity. That does not change 2026 evacuation maps overnight. It does mean that once Phase One is open, the corridor is supposed to move more vehicles east and west across the bay during a storm surge or contraflow event. Until then, the tunnel and the two-lane-each-way Bayway remain the capacity limit.
The hero photograph on this story is the existing westbound I-10 entrance to the George Wallace Tunnel, not a rendering of the unbuilt cable-stayed span. That is the facility drivers still use, and it is the bottleneck DOT says the loan will finally let Alabama replace with a high-level interstate crossing. Keep using the tunnel until ALDOT posts a specific lane or ramp restriction. A financing close is not a closure order.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Drive I-10 through Mobile this fall | Keep using the Wallace Tunnel and Bayway. Watch ALDOT for October lane shifts when restriping starts. |
| Haul hazmat through the corridor | Stay on the current downtown detour until the new bridge opens. The tunnel ban is unchanged by the loan. |
| Book a 2026 or 2027 Gulf beach trip | Do not add a bridge toll to the budget. Collection starts only after opening, projected around 2031. |
| Commute daily between Mobile and the Eastern Shore after opening | Compare the $60 monthly pass with the free Wallace Tunnel, Bankhead Tunnel, Causeway, and Africatown Bridge. |
September 18, 2026, is the financing close. The TIFIA loan of up to $2.52 billion is the last federal piece ALDOT said it needed before authorizing full construction.
October 2026 is the construction start window. FOX10, citing ALDOT, said work is intended to begin next month. Build extra time into I-10 trips once restriping and staging appear on the Bayway.
Around 2031 is the first toll date. No fare is collected until the new Mobile River Bridge opens. Existing free crossings remain free under ALDOT’s July notice.
Did the U.S. Department of Transportation fund the Mobile River Bridge on September 18?
Yes. USDOT announced a TIFIA loan of up to $2.52 billion on September 18, 2026, for the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge, and Tunnel Authority, with ALDOT as builder.
When does I-10 construction start in Mobile?
ALDOT intends to begin construction next month, in October 2026, and to set a ceremonial groundbreaking soon, according to FOX10’s September 18 report citing the department.
Will I pay a toll on I-10 in Mobile this year?
No. ALDOT says no tolls are collected until the new bridge opens, projected around 2031, and the Wallace Tunnel, Bankhead Tunnel, Causeway, and Africatown Bridge stay free.
Does the George Wallace Tunnel close when construction starts?
No current official notice closes the tunnel. Phase One builds a new high-level bridge and restripes the Bayway while the existing tunnel remains the through route.
