A&O Shearman advised the U.S. Department of Transportation on the development and financing for the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project—the largest infrastructure project in Alabama’s history.
The complex financing comprises a USD2.52bn TIFIA loan alongside four series of toll revenue bonds and bond anticipation notes, both taxable and tax-exempt, totaling approximately USD3.8bn. Construction on the project is expected to begin in October 2026, with the new bridge and Phase One improvements anticipated to open to traffic by late 2031.
The Mobile River Bridge and Bayway project will deliver a new six-lane, cable-stayed bridge spanning the Mobile River, alongside improvements to the existing Bayway corridor along Interstate 10 between Mobile and Baldwin counties, including expanded lane capacity across Mobile Bay. The project is intended to address congestion and safety challenges along one of the U.S. Gulf Coast's most heavily trafficked transportation corridors, including enhanced hurricane evacuation capacity and a dedicated Interstate route for hazardous-material freight currently prohibited from using the Wallace Tunnel.
With a Phase One construction cost of USD5.3bn—supported by a USD550 million Bridge Investment Program grant, a USD125m INFRA grant, and significant state investment in addition to the TIFIA loan and the bonds—the project represents a landmark public infrastructure investment in the region.
“We were proud to advise the U.S. Department of Transportation on this decades-in-the-making financing, which will help deliver transformative connectivity for the Gulf Coast region. Our team's deep familiarity with this corridor, including work on earlier phases of the project's development, allowed us to successfully navigate a financing of this scale and complexity at the intersection of infrastructure finance and public policy.”
Paul Epstein
Partner
The A&O Shearman team was led by New York-based Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure partner Paul Epstein, counsel Peter Tolson, and associates Rebecca Dresner and Rachel Goldberg.