GULF SHORES, AL — City and state officials could have a ribbon cutting on the new bridge over Little Lagoon as early as April 20, according to Grant Brown, spokesman for the City of Gulf Shores.

There was hope of an earlier opening date, but the recent rainy weather pushed the date back from April 17 to April 20. A 10:30 a.m. ceremony is planned.

"If everything goes well and the weather cooperates with us, we’re planning on opening the bridge to traffic April 17," State Construction Engineering Brian Aaron said on April 8. "That's what we're shooting for right now. We're putting the finishing touches up on everything this week. We should be paving this week."

Aaron said state and city officials are working together to coordinate a ceremony for the opening.

Aaron, the construction engineer for the Southwest Alabama Region for ALDOT, said on April 8 crews are rapidly closing in on the open date, but work could continue in the area until July 4.

The bulk of the work left to be done is dismantling the temporary bridge that has serviced traffic through construction and driving new pylons for the seawall for new, wider pass where the temporary span stood.

“The only thing left to be done on the wall is what’s underneath that metal bridge traffic riding on now,” Aaron said. “Once we get traffic on the new structure, we’ll take down the metal bridge and finish the wall underneath there. It won’t be much work at all.”

And just because traffic will use the new bridge, crews will still have plenty of finishing work to be done.

“It’s coming together but there’s still going to be some work that will need to be done after the fact,” Aaron said. “We’ve got to remove the detour bridge, the metal bridge that’s in place. We’ve got to finish some work on the walls.

“Construction won’t be done, but traffic will be on the new bridge structure. Hopefully we’ll be out of there by the Fourth of July with everything.”

Aaron praised the contractor and crews for working on the project in the Gulf Coast climate.

“It is a harsh work environment,” he said. “It’s harsh on the workers, it’s harsh on the equipment. The wind plays a factor down there. It just makes it unsafe at times to be lifting stuff with cranes, moving things around on site. I think that’s been one of the challenges from our contractor.

“There’s no escape from the sun, no escape from the cold, but they’ve done well at it.”

Through all the challenges, Aaron said, the project has turned out quite nicely.

The current through the pass, one the state is under a court order to keep clear and flowing, wasn’t a factor in the construction, Aaron said.

“It hasn’t really affected us that much,” he said. “Our work, driving piles, the current really doesn’t affect that much. It has more effect on our dredge guys.”

Some added touches are impressions in the side of the bridge with a local flavor and a handrail reminiscent of waves in the Gulf.

“There’re two sea shells on each end and two dolphins and those are on the exterior of the girders so when you’re looking at it from afar you can see it,” Aaron said. “We’ve got the handrail that should be going up that’s kind of wavy like the ocean. It’s going to be a real nice structure.”

State involvement with the pass began in 1991 when homeowners west of Little Lagoon pass that said they were experiencing erosion because of the jetties at the pass. After a while, the homeowners dropped out of the lawsuit and it was taken up by the Little Lagoon Preservation Society.

The case made it all the way to the Alabama Supreme which ruled the Alabama Department of Transportation had to keep the pass dredged to allow water to flow freely in and out of Little Lagoon.