With toll bridge deal, Alabama bets drivers will pay to beat congestion

By: Robert Slavin

Excerpt from the article:

(September 3, 2026) The largest municipal bond deal of 2026 is built on the proposition that drivers in Mobile, Alabama, will pay tolls to save time by avoiding congestion.

The Alabama Toll Road, Bridge and Tunnel Authority plans to bring $3.7 billion of debt to market next week to finance a new tolled Interstate 10 bridge over the Mobile River.

The project's cornerstone is a six-lane cable-stay bridge with 215 feet of air draft clearance over the Mobile River. Presently, I-10 runs under the river in the four-lane, over-capacity George Wallace Tunnel.

One potential challenge, noted in the bond documents, is that drivers will have a free alternative to the bridge and Bayway viaduct that carries the highway over Mobile Bay directly to the east.

"Traffic in Mobile can have some pretty good bottlenecks, especially on Fridays," said John Mousseau, executive vice president and chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors.

"Spending billions of dollars on an infrastructure project when there are lower-cost or free options is not a good formula for forward looking progress," he said. 

Click here to read the full article on the Bond Buyer website. 

John R. Mousseau, CFA
Chief Investment Officer
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