New Mobile River Bridge advancing, debate begins on its name

The much-anticipated Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project continues to move forward thanks to the approval of the project’s financing plan by the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority last week.

Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) spokesperson Tony Harris told Mobile Bay Now in an email that the toll authority approval “allows the financial closing process to move forward in mid-September.”

In July, after decades of planning, ALDOT Southwest Region and local planning agencies announced plans to begin construction of the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project before the end of 2026.

The key to beginning work on the project? Securing approval of a federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan.

ALDOT has developed a financial viable plan that improves traffic 

According to ALDOT, they have developed a two-phase plan designed to keep the project financially viable and deliver meaningful traffic improvements sooner.

Below are the two phases:

Phase One

• Construction of a new six-lane cable-stayed bridge.
• Restriping the existing Bayway to provide six lanes of traffic across Mobile Bay.
• Improvements to major interchanges, intersections and traffic flow throughout the corridor in Mobile and Baldwin counties.

Phase Two

• Construction of a new Bayway structure as additional funding becomes available, with future toll revenue helping finance the project.

Phase One is currently estimated to cost approximately $3.2 billion. 

With the news about construction of the  Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project possibly beginning in late 2026, locals on both sides of the bay have been debating what we should name the bridge.

In a Facebook post last week by Mobile Bay Now, we posed the questions…

What should we name the new Mobile River Bridge?

Overwhelmingly, readers favored honoring singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.

Other suggestions included:

• Hammerin Hank Aaron Bridge
• Aaron-Buffett Memorial Bridge  
• Mobile Mardi-Gras Bridge
• Forrest Gump Bridge
• Gateway to the Gulf Bridge
• Jubilee Bridge
• John Cooper Bridge, one of the only double Medal of Honor awardees

Some readers also proposed simply naming it: Mobile River Bridge.