August 28th, 2026 | Volume 59, Number 7 | |
The Mobile MPO Policy Board held a joint meeting with the TCC/CAC on Wednesday, August 5th, 2026 at 10:00 am at the GM&O Building at 110 Beauregard St, Mobile, AL 36602 in the Board Room on the 1st floor.
The MPO adopted the following project changes to the Fiscal Years 2024-2027 Transportation Improvement Program:
- Project: 100073596 (DB) Federal aid number: NHDBF I010 (353) County: Mobile. Project description: I-10 Mobile River Bridge and Bayway from Broad Street (Exit 24) to existing Bayway (Phase 1). Old Engineers Estimate: $1,691,540,000 New Engineers Estimate: $2,665,755,926.
- Project 100073597 (DB) Federal Aid Number: IMDBF-NHDBF County: Mobile I-10 Bayway from west of the Mobile County Line to East of the Eastern Shore Interchange at Exit 35 SR-42 (US-98) Including restriping of the existing Bayway Bridges from the Tensaw River to the East end of the Bayway Bridges (Phase 1) Engineers Estimated Cost: $888,022,854
- Project 100080582 ( FM )RESURFACING SR-16 (US-90) FROM I-165 (MP 31.259) TO .487 MILE SOUTH OF THE AFRICATOWN BRIDGE (MP 34.207) Old Target start date : November 05, 2027 New Target start date : December 04, 2026. Cost: $790,313
- Project: 100074236 (CN) National Highway Funds Project Description: Additional lanes and bridge replacement on I-65 from SR-158 to CR-41 (Celeste Road) Old cost estimate: $53,530,000 million New cost estimate: $64,000,000
The MPO Policy Board adopted the FY2027 UPWP, updated Bylaws for the MPO and TCC/CAC, and updated Human Services Coordinated Transportation Plan.
The documents can be reviewed at www.mobilempo.org. For physical copies of the documents, contact the Transportation Planning Department at (251)706-4613 or email transportation@sarpc.org.
Additional information may be obtained from the Transportation Planning Coordinator at the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, (251)433-6541.
For documents, click HERE.
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Recent Scheduling Changes This Week for Mobile MPO
The target start date or project engineers estimated amount has changed for the following:
Project : 100078667 ( CN ) Federal aid number : RHPD RR25 (907) County : MOBILE
Project Description : RAILROAD CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF CANTILEVER WITH SIGNALS, MAST MOUNTED SIGNALS WITH BELLS AND GATES, SIGNS, MARKING AND LEGENDS AT WOODLAND AVENUE AND NS RAILROAD, DOT NO. 727836F, REF. NO. 1593
Old Engineers Estimate : $600,000.00 New Engineers Estimate : $597,325.80
Project : 100069499 ( RW ) Federal aid number : STPMB 4919 (251) County : MOBILE
Project Description : ADDITIONAL LANES ON CR-41 (CELESTE ROAD) FROM FOREST AVENUE TO SHELL STREET
Old Target start date : November 01, 2026 New Target start date : December 01, 2026
| | South Alabama RPO Updates | | |
South Alabama RPO Meeting, Thursday, September 17th, 2026
The South Alabama Rural Planning Organization (RPO) will host a public meeting on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Bay Minette City Hall, located at 301 D’Olive Street in Bay Minette, Alabama.
There will be a discussion of current and future transportation projects in the rural areas of our region by the ALDOT Southwest Regional Office.
Other items on the agenda include:
- Adoption of the minutes of the previous meeting
- Review and adoption of the Fiscal Year 2027 Work Program
- Updating the RPO Transportation Plan with Project List
- Adoption of the Human Services Coordinated Transportation Plan
- Adoption of the Escambia County Safety Action Plan
Currently, staff is updating the RPO Transportation Plan with Project List. Click HERE to view the document. The Needs List is in the appendix located in the back of the document. Please send any updates on current projects, or any projects you think should be added to Anthony Johnson - ajohnson@sarpc.org.
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Project Letting August 28th, 2026 10:00 AM CDT
BALDWIN COUNTY
None at this time.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
None at this time.
MOBILE COUNTY
None at this time.
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Congress is in recess.
Congressman Reintroduces Road Design Modernization Bill
Congressman Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) reintroduced a bill to modernize road design standards and protect pedestrians and cyclists. The Building Safer Streets Act would direct the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to update its road design standards to prioritize lowering traffic fatalities and discourage raising speed limits. The legislation would also create flexibility for local transportation authorities by streamlining the approval process for FHWA-recommended safety features and adjusting the Safe Streets for All grant process to address the needs of small and rural applicants. Congressman Moulton cited the death of Boston transportation planner Louisa Gag, who was struck by a truck while riding her bike, as a contributor to the bill's reintroduction. The bill is the House companion to Senator John Fetterman's (D-Pa.) version, introduced in 2023.
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NHTSA Facing Rulemaking Backlog
A recent report from the Congressional Research Service identified a significant backlog of congressionally-mandated safety and fuel economy rules at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The report found that NHTSA completed only 38 out of 57 of the rules mandated in the last three surface transportation reauthorizations, dating back to 2012. A 2022 GAO report on the rulemaking delays recommended that NHTSA update its processes and implement new administrative procedures. Members of Congress took note of the delays, with some calling attention to the lack of capacity at NHTSA in light of staff reductions and proposed budget cuts. A new version of the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act of 2026 would require NHTSA to address their delays by implementing recognized project schedule management practices.
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USDOT Launches Initiative to Pair Energy and Transportation Infrastructure
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently unveiled its America's Great Corridors of Commerce (AGCU) initiative to build energy and telecommunications infrastructure alongside existing transportation routes, housed by the Build America Bureau. The project will utilize public-private partnerships that enable state departments of transportation and railroads to lease land adjacent to their corridors for transmission wires, fiber optic lines, water pipelines, and other utilities. Lease revenue would fund upgrades on adjoining roads and tracks while allowing the new infrastructure to bypass lengthy environmental reviews. USDOT cited growing energy demand and competition from China as drivers of the initiative. USDOT published a Request for Information on the proposed model, with comments due September 12.
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Greyhound’s 5-year turnaround: new buses, more routes, new customers
The company is part of an intercity bus revival, with better intermodal terminals in major cities and an upgraded customer experience.
Published Aug. 27, 2026
Dan Zukowski Senior Reporter
When Munich-based bus and rail operator Flix acquired Greyhound nearly five years ago, the North American intercity bus operator had fallen on hard times. Its business was deteriorating and the public saw bus travel as unsafe and undesirable.
Fast forward to 2026. “Students, young professionals, retirees and value-conscious travelers are all choosing intercity bus,” Flix North America CEO Kai Boysan told Smart Cities Dive.
Greyhound upgraded its fleet with 185 new buses over the past two years and has 80 more on order, according to CX Dive. Bus departures from originating terminals are 95% on time, and destination arrivals are over 80%, Boysan said. Across both FlixBus and Greyhound, more than 37 new lines have been added year-to-date, he said.
For the intercity bus industry as a whole, federal policy plays a big part. Boysan pointed to the Formula Grants for Rural Area program, which helps fund state-supported bus services.
Alabama, Maine and Virginia are among the states utilizing these funds. States generally contract with private operators for these routes, and Boysan sees more opportunity for public-private partnerships on the state and local levels.
Read entire article HERE.
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Mobile mayor doubles down on vision to replace city buses with trolleys: ‘Obsessed with them’
Updated: Aug. 27, 2026, 10:06 a.m. | Published: Aug. 25, 2026, 3:13 p.m.
John Sharp | jsharp@al.com
While on the campaign trail last summer, before winning Mobile’s mayoral election, Spiro Cheriogotis made clear he had an unconventional vision for the city’s public transit future.
“There’s no reason buses serving the downtown area couldn’t be supplemented or totally replaced by trackless trolleys in the future,” Cheriogotis said during last year’s campaign.
Now, exactly one year after the mayoral election, Cheriogotis is sticking with that vision and appears to be doubling down on it. During comments Tuesday, the mayor said he ultimately wants to replace Mobile’s Wave buses with trolleys as part of a long-term overhaul of the city’s public transportation system.
The mayor expanded on that goal after several Mobile City Council members said they were unclear about his plans.
“There was a time when public transportation was a big deal in Mobile, and used by everyone,” Cheriogotis said during the council’s preconference meeting. “I think we can get back there with the right vehicle and plan.”
The discussion surfaced during consideration of a $230,950 contract with Star Graphics Inc. to place new graphics on 16 buses, 11 vans, four SUVs, 12 sedans and 18 paratransit shuttles. The branding package reflects the city’s transition from the long-established Wave transit system to the newly renamed Second Line Transit.
The new graphics will also be applied to a trolley purchased by the city for more than $100,000 using money from a previous capital budget.
Continue reading HERE.
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City of Mobile looking into grant funding to purchase bollards for downtown
By Daeshen Smith
Published: Aug. 25, 2026 at 5:43 PM CDT
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) -The city of Mobile is looking into a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration to purchase its own bollards for downtown Mardi Gras events.
Mobile added bollards downtown during Mardi Gras after the deadly 2025 terror attack in New Orleans to make the area safer for pedestrians. City officials and people downtown said they’ve been glad to have them the last couple of years.
“I think it’s gone great. You give pedestrian their right of way, but you still have traffic that can flow through. Everybody’s happy,” Harrison Hawke said.
“It’s been great because it helps law enforcement improve our responses to concerns but it also gives the community something they see and they feel that added layer of comfort,” said Curtis Graves, executive director of public safety.
The city has borrowed the bollards from Tuscaloosa over the last couple of years, but Graves said that hasn’t been cheap.
“That was a costly expenditure only because we were responsible for those bollards during transport and one of those bollards had to be towed,” Graves said.
Graves said it’s unclear how many bollards the grant would buy because the city is still looking into different types.
“I would love for us to have something that we could put in ground however our problem is that often times we find ourselves hitting water quite easily because of where we are,” Graves said.
Continue HERE.
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Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation & Improvement Program II
What is the ATRIP-II program?
The purpose of the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program-II (ATRIP-II) is to rehabilitate and improve transportation infrastructure by funding projects of local interest, proposed by one or more local governments, related to the state-maintained highway system. Projects may include local roads and bridges essential to such projects.
The program's goal is to address critical needs projects across the state to rehabilitate and improve the in-place facilities and in some cases provide new facilities at locations throughout the state. The program's focus is an emphasis on the public safety, economic growth, and stability of the state and its roads and bridges.
Procedural Guidelines
Application
FAQ
All applications must be submitted electronically no later than 5:00 pm on November 13, 2026.
Applications should be sent in through https://aldot.submittable.com/submit
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Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility Pilot Program (ICAM)
Application Deadline: September 9, 2026
The FTA’s ICAM Pilot Program seeks to improve access to public transportation by building partnerships among health, transportation and other service providers. This program provides competitive funding to support innovative projects for transportation disadvantaged populations that will improve the coordination of transportation services and non-emergency medical transportation services.
View the NOFO HERE.
| | In honor of Dolly Parton, we decided to share some fun facts about her! |
- Dolly had 11 siblings. She was the fourth born out of twelve!
- She wrote both "Jolene" and "I Will Always Love You" on the same day in 1972.
- Dolly won 11 Grammy Awards and 11 Guinness World Records!
- She somehow found herself in a Halloween Dolly lookalike contest and lost. She revealed, "I didn’t even come in close, I don’t think."
- She made her first premiere at the Grand Ole Opry at 13 years old.
Dolly Parton fun facts: 15 things you might not know about the legendary singer - cleveland.com
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