FOLEY, Ala. (NBC 15) — As the new Intracoastal Waterway Bridge project nears completion and prepares to open for traffic by summer 2026, transportation data shows that drivers have already begun changing how they travel to and from Alabama’s beaches — and the expanded crossing is likely to accelerate that shift even further. Since tolls were removed from the Foley Beach Express Bridge in May 2024, traffic counts show significantly higher volumes on the formerly tolled route with thousands more vehicles per day choosing the free expressway over parallel corridors like Highway 59.
With the new $52 million Waterway Bridge and SR-161 connector nearly finished — bridge decks were completed in late 2025 and substructure and steel work are essentially complete with roadway paving underway — the project will double the number of travel lanes across the Intracoastal Waterway when it opens, giving Beach Express users even more capacity and incentive to continue choosing that route over older, more congested highways
On May 23, 2024, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) officially took ownership of the toll bridge that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway on the Beach Express and permanently scrapped tolls. State and local leaders hailed the move to improve travel for both residents and the region’s booming tourism traffic…