What You Should Know About: Transportation Improvements

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) will award the City of Gulf Shores a federal highway infrastructure improvement grant for more than $14M, for a project to increase the capacity of State Highway 59 in Baldwin County. The grant is made available as part of the DOT Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program, which focuses on economic development and infrastructure upgrades. The BUILD Grant for Gulf Shores will fund a project to: • Construct approximately two miles of a third southbound lane on State Highway 59 between County Road 8 and Alabama State Highway 180 • Construct a new pedestrian bridge over the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway • Construct shared-use paths along State Highway 59 from 20th Avenue to County Road 4 • Expand County Road 6 from a two-lane roadway to a divided four-lane boulevard with dedicated cycling lanes and a shared-use pedestrian path access • Add new two-lane roads, cycling lanes, and sidewalks.

Project benefits include increased capacity along State HWY 59, reduced traffic congestion and improved vehicular and pedestrian safety, additional evacuation capacity during natural disasters, improved traffic conditions at several intersections along State HWY 59, and enhanced connectivity to the new proposed medical facility, Jack Edwards Airport, Gulf Shores Business and Aviation Park, and Waterway Village District.