DAPHNE, Ala. — Daphne, Spanish Fort and Belforest residents will be able to express their thoughts and hear an update on the County Road 13 and Interstate 10 interchange at 6:30 p.m. Thursday  at Daphne High School.

Daphne Mayor Fred Small said the meeting will focus on the interchange project and Spanish Fort and Daphne’s efforts to protect the D’Olive Watershed, and he said Alabama House of Representatives Rep. Randy Davis, R-Daphne, would host the meeting.

 Stephen Pryor, director of the Baldwin County legislative delegation office, said the meeting may touch on the proposed I-10 service road, but the main focus of the meeting would be about the interchange.

“At this point in time, the service road is not even really on the map so to speak. There’s no money for it,” Pryor said.

“The last couple of years (County Road 13) has been somewhat contested because of the service road. It does not negate the need for a County Road 13 interchange … The traffic patterns in the Eastern Shore continue to be incredibly heavy and so you’ve got this great need for additional ways to get traffic moving along the Eastern Shore.”

A proposed County Road 13 and I-10 interchange and a proposed service road north of I-10 connecting exit 35 to exit 38 have been topics of discussions among Spanish Fort and Daphne leaders and residents. The Spanish Fort City Council stated verbal and financial support for the service road project, while the city of Daphne voted against supporting it. Pryor said both cities’ mayors have expressed positive thoughts about the interchange.

“Rep. Davis wanted to have another public meeting to give people an update on where they are in dialogue with the state, dialogue with the county commissioners and dialogue with the mayors and an update on the D’Olive Watershed,” Pryor said.

Local groups and residents formed the coalition in 2004 to protect area waterways and road systems from erosion and flooding caused by stream banks leading into the Mobile and D’Olive bays.

Small, Spanish Fort Mayor Jo Bonner and Baldwin County Commissioner Bob James will attend the meeting — which will be held in Trojan Hall — and the community leaders will discuss with residents some of the options and concerns about the highway and interstate projects and their effect on watershed management.

County residents recently voted against creating a public entity that would oversee storm water management in the area.

The D’Olive Watershed — which comprises more than 7,700 acres and 23-plus miles of streams in Daphne, Spanish Fort and other Baldwin County areas — has been a focal point of discussion for the past few years.

The county held a public meeting on Jan. 19 at Daphne City Hall to discuss with residents the interchange and I-10 service road, and Davis spoke to Lake Forest residents in January about the interchange and service road.

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