Current:Home > MarketsTolls eliminated from Beach Express after state purchases private toll bridge-LoTradeCoin
Tolls eliminated from Beach Express after state purchases private toll bridge
View Date:2024-12-24 00:05:09
FOLEY, Ala. (AP) — There will be no charge beginning Thursday to drive across the Foley Beach Express Bridge after Alabama purchased the private toll bridge that provides one route to state beaches.
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced Wednesday that the state has completed its purchase of the toll bridge in Baldwin County. The $5 toll will be eliminated at noon Thursday and the bridge will be free to cross.
“Our coast continues to experience record growth and success, and I am proud we are making needed infrastructure improvements in the area that will help alleviate traffic congestion for Alabamians and those visiting our beaches,” Ivey said in a statement.
The governor and local officials in Baldwin County held a signing ceremony to mark the completion of the purchase.
The Alabama Department of Transportation purchased the bridge from the Baldwin County Bridge Company for $57 million. Ivey announced the purchase plans in April. An additional $3 million will be paid to the city of Orange Beach for road improvements.
The thoroughfare is a private toll bridge that provides an alternate route to state beaches. Motorists paid $5 per trip to cross the bridge by car.
Alabama is also building another bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway to help ease traffic congestion at the coast. The Baldwin County Bridge Company has sued the state over constructing the new bridge, accusing the state transportation director of acting in bad faith during toll negotiations and then pursuing the new bridge project to financially damage the company.
A judge last year blocked construction of the new bridge, but the Alabama Supreme Court reversed that decision.
veryGood! (26236)
Related
- Bankruptcy judge questioned Shilo Sanders' no-show at previous trial
- James Madison moves quickly, hires Preston Spradlin as new men's basketball coach
- Tracy Morgan clarifies his comments on Ozempic weight gain, says he takes it 'every Thursday'
- Powerlifter Angel Flores, like other transgender athletes, tells her story in her own words
- Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as ‘border czar’
- Key takeaways about the condition of US bridges and their role in the economy
- At least 5 deaths linked to recalled supplement pill containing red mold
- When is Passover 2024? What you need to know about the Jewish holiday
- Subway rider who helped restrain man in NYC chokehold death says he wanted ex-Marine to ‘let go’
- EPA sets strict new emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks and buses in bid to fight climate change
Ranking
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- 2 Vermont troopers referred to court diversion after charges of reckless endangerment
- Arkansas, local officials mark anniversary of tornadoes that killed four and destroyed homes
- Baltimore bridge collapse: Who will pay for the destroyed bridge, harmed businesses and lost lives?
- Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Team Up for SKIMS Collab With Dolce & Gabbana After Feud
- ‘Ozempig’ remains Minnesota baseball team’s mascot despite uproar that name is form of fat-shaming
- 2 police officers shot in Nevada city. SWAT team surrounds home where suspect reportedly holed up
- DA suggests Donald Trump violated gag order with post about daughter of hush-money trial judge
Recommendation
-
Jon Gruden joins Barstool Sports three years after email scandal with NFL
-
Harvard says it has removed human skin from the binding of a 19th century book
-
Unsung North Dakota State transfer leads Alabama past North Carolina and into the Elite 8
-
Brittney Griner re-signs with the Phoenix Mercury, will return for 11th season in WNBA
-
Bev Priestman fired as Canada women’s soccer coach after review of Olympic drone scandal
-
Chicago-area doctor sexually abused more than 300 patients and hospitals ignored it, lawsuit claims
-
Uranium is being mined near the Grand Canyon as prices soar and the US pushes for more nuclear power
-
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87