The Real Deal

By Sharman Egan

Lagniappe columnist

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the new I-10 bridge. Three options are on the table and I haven’t heard a single nice thing said about any of them.

First, a little background. The folks at the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) have been trying to figure out how to get more cars across the Mobile River. The problem is the frequent backup on I-10 at the Wallace Tunnel.

Since 1997, ALDOT has looked at 14 different options including a new tunnel just south of the Wallace Tunnel, a connector between Dauphin Island and Fort Morgan, upgrades to the Cochran-Africatown Bridge and everything in between. Now they have narrowed it down to three alternatives. All three are bridges that would run just south of downtown Mobile with slight differences in their routes.

Most everyone – including the Mobile City Council, business leaders and preservationists – has come out against all three choices. They seem to be in agreement that any of the three bridges would kill future development along the waterfront, hurt our shipping industry, negatively impact tourism including the cruise terminal and the USS Alabama, and generally be a bad thing for the downtown central business and historic districts. Think Armageddon in Mobile.

They are also worried the bridge will ruin the Mobile skyline. More about that later.

Things really started heating up at the end of August when the Mobile City Council weighed in with a letter to the Alabama Transportation Director. All seven members signed the strongly worded letter stating that the best option is to route traffic north of downtown and upgrade the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge. But ALDOT will make the final decision and it doesn’t appear this option is even on the table.

I’m not sure which of the three options is best. To be honest, the backup at the Wallace Tunnel doesn’t seem serious enough to me to warrant spending $700 million (and we know this figure will balloon before all is said and done). Not to mention dealing with Armageddon. And if we’ve gotten along for almost a decade without solving this problem, maybe it’s not a problem. But then I’m a recent import from Atlanta so I may not be the best person to provide traffic planning counsel for the city of Mobile.

Back to the skyline issue. I’m sure some people would say there’s not all that much to ruin. I agree Mobile doesn’t have the most impressive skyline around. But it is beautiful when you cross the bay from the Eastern Shore. Until you get closer and you see two big ‘ol metal Austal buildings, one of which literally looms over your car as you approach the Bankhead Tunnel. There’s a good reason why they call these buildings “sheds” as they have all the charm of the aluminum storage units in the Home Depot parking lot.

So here’s my question: if everyone is so concerned about our skyline, then why doesn’t someone talk to Austal about their butt-ugly buildings?

Is there any chance the new bridge could hide the view of the Austal buildings when you drive across the bay? If so, then I’m all for it. Although I have to admit $700 million does seem like a lot of money for a better view.

And now it’s going to get worse. Austal has just announced plans to build two more buildings. The first will be just north of the building that looms over the entrance to the Bankhead Tunnel. It will only be two stories, but the bottom floor will be used for shipbuilding so chances are it will be just a wee bit taller than the typical first story. I picture a third huge metal shed welcoming visitors to Mobile.

Another similar shed will be built just south of the smaller of the two existing buildings. Austal also has plans for another new facility in the Mobile area, even larger than their current operations, but thankfully they have run out of land near the Bankhead Tunnel.

Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against the nice people at Austal USA. And I’m all for the 250 new jobs the company promises. This expansion is great news for Mobile. But isn’t there some way we can work with them to improve the first view many visitors see of our beautiful city?

The new bridge isn’t a done deal yet but it looks like the first Austal building is. The company has already received bids and says the building will be completed by next summer. So what can we do?

I’m looking for creative ideas on how to beautify the existing Austal buildings and make the new ones a bit less shed-like. How about hiring taggers to decorate the buildings? Or faux painters? Could we add a spire like the one on the RSA Tower? Mobile-style metal work? Palm trees?

Or maybe we could just build a $700-million bridge to hide them.

If you have any ideas on beautifying the Austal buildings or ways to get more people across the bay that ALDOT hasn’t thought of yet, email me at Sharman@SharmanEgan.com. I promise to pass on your ideas.

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