FAIRHOPE – In the next 25 years, Baldwin County’s population is projected to grow by about 100,000 people creating more traffic congestion and other demands on roads and bridges, according to an infrastructure plan being prepared for the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The MPO is taking public comments on the proposed 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan until Jan. 5. The organization is scheduled to vote on the plan in January. The public comment period began Dec. 15, but MPO members and employees said they have received few comments so far.
“I heard one person about the Highway 98 expansion. We kind of worked that out, but there was some confusion on where it was and we corrected that to show it was in a different location and they were good,” Daphne Mayor Robin LeJeune, an MPO member, said Friday. “That was the only thing I’ve been contacted about.”
Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan, also an MPO member, said she has also heard few comments about road needs on the MPO list.
“We have a Street and Traffic Committee that meets and there are some concerns about the intersection at Twin Beech and Booth Road,” Sullivan said Friday. “There’s some concern there with school traffic. Obviously one of our priorities in Fairhope is the area near Veterans Drive and the Floral Clock. It’s on the MPO plan for funding in 2023. We would like to expedite that, if at all possible, so we’ll be looking for some grant funding prior to that if it can be pushed up on the MPO list, we would love for that to happen.”
The Long-Range Transportation Improvement Plan Members includes growth projections and current and expected traffic demands to prepare the plan for the next 25 years. The area is expected to have about $167.95 million to spend on roads in that time. The draft of the plan includes $161.63 million designated for projects, leaving about $6.32 million.
LeJeune said the MPO has to set priorities to best use the funding available.
“That’s what we have to plan for,” LeJeune said. “You look out ahead of time and you have parameters that we need for different things and everybody kind of agrees and says that’s good or some people are mad, and others are happy. Not everybody gets everything and that’s probably a good compromise.”
By 2045, Baldwin County’s population is expected to be 321,729, according to projections in the LRTP draft. Estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau put the county’s 2019 population at 223,234.
Sullivan said that growth will cause more congestion on already crowded roads.
“With growth comes traffic issues, so we’re well aware that we’re going to continue to see increases in traffic and continue to address traffic issues throughout the next several years and into the future,” she said.
The plan sets projects to be paid for with available money and others on a list that is not yet funded.
Copies of the draft plan will be available for study at public locations on the Eastern Shore and in central Baldwin County. A copy of the draft can also be found at the ESMPO website, www.easternshorempo.org.
Residents who want to comment on the plan can send or hand-deliver letters to the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization c/o Baldwin County (Fairhope) Satellite Courthouse 1100 Fairhope Avenue Fairhope, Alabama 36532. Comments can also be emailed to coordinator@easternshorempo.org.
Comments can also be faxed to 251-580-2590.
