Mobile River Bridge and Bayway: Ivey Authorizes $3.2 Billion Construction, Groundbreaking Set for Friday

Alabama issues notice to proceed for the largest transportation project in state history, clearing the way for a new six-lane Mobile River bridge and major I-10 improvements

MONTGOMERY, Ala. | Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday formally authorized construction of the $3.2 billion Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project, moving one of the state's most consequential infrastructure projects from decades of planning toward full-scale construction.

The Alabama Department of Transportation, acting on behalf of the Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority, issued a notice to proceed Sept. 25 to the Kiewit Massman Traylor design-build team, according to the governor's office. The authorization follows the completion of bond sales and federal financing and represents the final procedural step before construction begins.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, in Mobile, with U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy expected to join Ivey and other officials. The event will be invitation-only because of space limitations, according to the governor's office.

The project represents a major overhaul of the Interstate 10 corridor connecting Mobile and Baldwin counties and is described by state officials as the largest transportation infrastructure project in Alabama history.

“At long last, we are officially moving from talking about the need for the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project to actually building it,” Ivey said in announcing the authorization.

Senate passes bipartisan college sports overhaul 77-22, sending landmark NIL bill to House

Trump presses House to move quickly on sweeping legislation that would establish national rules for NIL compensation, revenue sharing, transfers and athlete protections as opponents warn about labor rights and NCAA power

WASHINGTON | The Senate overwhelmingly approved a sweeping bipartisan overhaul of college athletics Monday, advancing the most significant federal attempt yet to regulate the multibillion-dollar industry and shifting the battle over athlete compensation, transfers and the NCAA’s authority to the House.

The Protect College Sports Act passed 77-22, an unusually broad bipartisan vote on legislation that has divided lawmakers, labor organizations, civil rights groups, universities and athletic conferences over how much control schools should have over an increasingly professionalized college sports marketplace.

President Donald Trump has urged Congress to send the legislation to his desk, with the White House calling for a national framework to address years of uncertainty surrounding name, image and likeness compensation, athlete eligibility, transfers and revenue sharing.

The bill now moves to the House, where its path is less certain. The chamber is in recess until after the November midterm elections, although Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has urged Speaker Mike Johnson to bring lawmakers back to Washington to consider the measure.

The legislation represents a potentially historic shift for college athletics, replacing a patchwork of state laws, court decisions and athletic association rules with a federal framework governing some of the industry's most consequential issues.