The Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) voted this week on its transportation improvement plan (TIP), which establishes the area’s priorities from 2020 to 2023. MPO, which acts as a liaison between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration, Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) and local municipalities, decided against prioritising the project.
State governor Kay Ivey said: “With the action taken today, there is no pathway forward, and this project is dead.”
ALDOT’s plans to develop the project had received the necessary environmental approvals from the FHWA earlier this month. ALDOT said at the time that it would move forward with the next phase of project delivery by issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to the three teams pursuing the project. The three had been shortlisted in February 2018 and had been working with ALDOT to develop the RFP (link opens in new tab). The announcement of the selected bidder had been due to take place in March 2020.
