Orange Beach planning a beach bridge

Orange Beach, Ala. (WALA) - Inside the Meat Mart Butcher shop in Orange Beach, their shelves are loaded with assorted meats, ready for grilling on the beach.

The shop is along Canal Road, a heavily trafficked area, especially during the summer. But when the road's packed, not many customers come in.

The owner of the Meat Mart, Glenn Beard said, "There is an extreme amount of traffic on this road during the summer. People want to get where they're going and they want to get home when it's time to go."

Many locals here say traffic can be horrendous.

As a solution, Mayor Tony Kennon is working with the state to build a bridge over Gulf State park to bring tourists directly to the beach.

"This is absolutely necessary. We've got to be able to move traffic to and from the beach, or we're gonna lose our traffic, we're gonna lose our tourists," Kennon said.

The mayor said plans are being drawn up to build an elevated bridge over Powerline road.
The road is already in place not too far from The Wharf. Right now it's a long, bumpy stretch of dirt road with powerlines canvassing overhead.

Mayor Kennon said the bridge would have light shields and be soundproofed to protect the wildlife below.

"It would not affect the environment in any form or fashion, critters can move freely underneath the bridge," Kennon said.

Meantime, Canal Road is littered with shops and businesses.

The mayor said there were originally plans to expand Canal Road to five lanes but the plans were too expensive. So instead, the mayor would like to see the city add walking paths and bike trails to give it a “downtown feel”.

Beard said, "I think they'll get out and explore, they'll check out the businesses, it might be a good thing."

Just about everyone we talked to here were in support of the bridge. Many admit the traffic taints the view of this paradise, and they hope a bridge can change all that.

Mayor Kennon said construction could probably begin sometime in the next couple of years.