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Orange Beach hears proposal on bridge

Posted 8/16/11

If you know Allen McElroy for five minutes, you know one thing for sure: He is passionate about a bridge over Wolf Bay from Josephine to Alabama 161 in Orange Beach.

When the chairman of the Orange Beach Business and Industrial Development Board …

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Orange Beach hears proposal on bridge

Posted

If you know Allen McElroy for five minutes, you know one thing for sure: He is passionate about a bridge over Wolf Bay from Josephine to Alabama 161 in Orange Beach.

When the chairman of the Orange Beach Business and Industrial Development Board met Robert Wierzbicki, an engineer who works out of Jacobs Engineering Group’s Atlanta office and owns vacation property here, the idea for the bridge came up.

It just so happens Wierzbicki added something to the conversation. McElroy quickly invited him to speak to the Wednesday meeting of the board even though the engineer is on vacation for two weeks.

“My initial contact with (McElroy) in which he expressed an interest to set some meetings up, but I didn’t expect to be here in front of you all 36 hours later,” Wierzbicki said Wednesday morning. “We just want to express an interest to understand more about the project, get with the right people, see if we can help move this project forward.

McElroy liked what he heard on Wednesday morning. 

“There’s some good vibes going on,” the chairman said. “I’m really excited. I think what I heard today inspired people in a positive way. I just think we’ve got a lot of opportunity here, I really do.”

The latest concept is a $110 million project to build a bridge and road connecting as far north as I-10.

Mayor Tony Kennon has heard talk of a Wolf Bay bridge since the 1990s.

 “I think at this time there are more possibilities of the bridge happening maybe than in the past,” he said. “And more people interested in making the bridge happen, from the outside. We’ll just have to wait and see. There’s so many obstacles.

“If somebody builds a bridge we’ll be glad to take it.”

Kennon said he appreciated McElroy’s passion for getting the bridge for the community.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it happen,” he said. “I mean, he is on it.”

City Administrator Ken Grimes has always liked the idea of the bridge, but was cautiously optimistic. 

 “As far as the Wolf Bay Bridge project, I’m always open to it, but until we find funding, none of that really matters,” Grimes said. “You’ve got to find the person to put the debt down.  You’ve got to have the investor. And that’s the key.

"If funding is ever found, obviously that funding may be local funding from a private developer like Mr. (George) Barber that they were mentioning.”
McElroy echoed those sentiments.
"We’ve gotten him in contact with the Barber people and they want to talk with him,” McElroy said.” It’s time for us to move I think. I’m really thinking we’re going to get this bridge. The Barber people are really interested in it. There’s an excellent place right over there for a grand hotel, tremendous golf course, riding stables and any other activities you might want. Plus you’ve got a great marina over there. I’m really excited.”
 Wierzbicki said he heard about the hope and need for a bridge when the city purchased land to be used for the southern bridge footing near Doc’s Seafood Shack.
“I understand it’s been stalled mainly due to funding issues,” he said. “I also saw the resolutions passed by the city and the board, basically trying to push it forward, but again just lacking that funding. So we need to bring some money.”'
He said his firm has built and financed similar projects in the past.
“The handout says ‘alternative delivery projects’ and that’s what I see the Wolf Bay Bridge being,” he said. “Unlike other projects where as you as the owner, the city, county or state would hire an engineer to design a project.
“This is going to go a little bit different. It’s going to have to be because of the funding. You need to get someone on board to bring the financing here. We’re basically here to express an interest in the project. Obviously there’s a lot of due diligence that’s got to happen.”
Wierzbicki presented an information package showing several bridges Jacobs has built including the longest bridge in Florida, a 4.4-mile span over Apalachicola Bay to St. George Island. The bridge, completed in 2003, cost $72 million and “is very similar to your project.”
“Another project, the Miami Port tunnel project which is currently under construction, that was a project where we brought financing in,” he said. “That’s a $610 million project, certainly a mega project compared to what you are looking at here.
“This concept which is called a P3 project, a public-private partnership, a P3, where you as an entity would bring the financing firm, construction firm to form a team to go build this project. The legislation would have to change a little bit here in the state. These are the of things we want to look at to see how we can make this thing go forward.”
Grimes said finding financing and someone to pay the debt are two different things.
"And the only person right now is Mr. Barber,” Grimes said. “The reason it’s always going to be tied to their organization, I know a lot of them and they are good people, they have everything to gain because they to open up that property, that is limited right now."

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