A finished southbound lane already sits on the W.C. Holmes Bridge, striped and ready, and the city is keeping it closed. Since late July, that third Hwy. 59 lane over the Intracoastal Waterway has stayed closed until a pedestrian bridge a few hundred yards east is done. The city's latest estimate for that pedestrian bridge is spring 2027. Gulf Shores' waterway crossings were built as a sequence. Each piece waits on the one before it. One new route, Waterway East, is expected to open by year-end, but Hwy. 59 keeps two southbound lanes over the canal until the footbridge opens.
The east side of that sequence is complete, the middle piece is close, and the west side is on hold. Here they are in that order.
The Beach Express Side Is Done
On May 13, 2026, the Alabama Department of Transportation announced that the new traffic pattern at the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge was fully open. It works as a one-way pair. Two southbound lanes use the new ICW Bridge, and two northbound lanes use the former toll bridge near The Wharf. ALDOT says the free-flowing pattern is meant to improve travel between the Beach Express, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan.
The northbound half of that pair has a short, unusual history. ALDOT bought the Baldwin County Bridge Company's toll bridge in 2024 for $57 million and set aside another $3 million for Orange Beach road improvements. Tolls ended at noon on May 23, 2024, as NBC 15 reported. Gulf Coast Media reported that the deal also included a commitment to pursue widening Canal Road between the two parallel bridges. On ALDOT's project page, the new Waterway Bridge is a completed, state-funded project costing $51,855,705.17.
The final major piece opened October 20, 2026. That was the SR-161 North Roundabout, just south of Gateway Boulevard, also known as CR-8. ALDOT's announcement says it gives southbound SR-161 drivers access to Roscoe Road and another way onto County Road 4. It also lets northbound drivers turn back south toward SR-180 and the beaches more easily. If you live off County Road 4 or Roscoe Road, you no longer have to loop around to get onto the southbound bridge.
The Middle Piece Should Open by Year's End
Between the Beach Express and Hwy. 59 is the city's Waterway East extension, and it is the link that ties the new bridge to the rest of town. A Gulf Shores spokesman described the payoff to Gulf Coast Media in June:
"People will be able to come back to Gulf Shores on the north side of the canal and go past the south side of the airport all the way to Hwy. 59."
Both phases are now built. That covers the extension from East 2nd Street to ALDOT's right-of-way and the connection to Alabama Beaches Parkway, which is SR-161 southbound, north of the new bridge. A RESTORE grant covers all construction costs. The road isn't open yet, though. In its September 24 update, the city said Waterway East will open officially once work wraps up on East 29th Avenue and Commerce Street. After that, crews will resurface all three roads, stripe them and open the whole stretch. The city expects that to happen by the end of the year. East 29th Avenue reopened after asphalt work on October 1, and work moved on to the Commerce connector.
Once it opens, a resident on the north side of the canal will have a second way to reach Hwy. 59 without crossing the water. That route matters most while the Hwy. 59 bridge is still waiting on its extra lane.
Why the Holmes Bridge Lane Is Striped and Closed
ALDOT's Hwy. 59 widening added a third southbound lane to the W.C. Holmes Bridge, which carries Hwy. 59 over the canal. That lane took the space the bridge used for its walking and bicycle lane. The city's new pedestrian bridge at Canal Road and East Second Street exists to replace that crossing.
The order matters here. Gulf Coast Media reported on July 31 that the contractor finished striping the new lane overnight. The city then announced the lane would stay closed until the pedestrian bridge is complete, which "ensures pedestrians and bicyclists continue to have a safe way to cross the Intracoastal Waterway." That was the most recent public status for the lane.
The pedestrian bridge's own timeline has since moved later. A June report put its completion date at January 8. The city's September 25 Waterway Village update said the towers are rising and the structure is on track to open in spring 2027. The city aims to open the plaza parks around the bridge at about the same time. The plazas have gotten more expensive. In January the city accepted a $3.6 million GOMESA grant for them, and the current estimate is $4.8 million. That left a gap of about $1.2 million, which the city plans to cover from parks and recreation impact fees, according to Gulf Coast Media. The October 26 council agenda included a change order for that work not to exceed $1,277,379.09.
So the sequence on the west side is set. The footbridge has to open before the Holmes Bridge can use all three southbound lanes, and the plazas are planned to open with it.
| Crossing piece | Where it stands | Latest public update |
|---|---|---|
| New ICW Bridge, two lanes southbound | Open | ALDOT, May 13, 2026 |
| Former toll bridge near The Wharf, two lanes northbound | Open, toll-free since 2024 | ALDOT, May 13, 2026 |
| SR-161 North Roundabout south of Gateway Boulevard, with access to Roscoe Road and County Road 4 | Open | ALDOT, Oct. 20, 2026 |
| Waterway East extension to SR-161 | Built, opening expected by year-end | City of Gulf Shores, Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, 2026 |
| Waterway Pedestrian Bridge and plazas | Under construction, spring 2027 target | City of Gulf Shores, Sept. 25, 2026 |
| Third southbound lane, W.C. Holmes Bridge | Striped, closed until the pedestrian bridge opens | Gulf Coast Media, July 31, 2026 |
The Detour Through Gulf Pines Stays for Now
The pedestrian bridge construction is also why Canal Road traffic currently runs through a neighborhood. Gulf Coast Media reported on October 13 that Orange Beach traffic follows Canal Road to East 3rd Street and turns south past Meyer Park to East 22nd Avenue. It then heads west to rejoin East 2nd Street. The east-west road was rerouted through Gulf Pines to make room for the bridge and plaza work at Canal and East Second.
The long-term fix is further off than the footbridge. At the October 12 council meeting, city officials described two plans. One is a temporary bypass that extends East 10th Street south to line up with an extension of East 20th Avenue, also known as Dolphin Avenue. The other is a permanent bypass that leaves Canal Road east of the Gulf Shores Utilities wastewater treatment plant and doesn't touch Gulf Pines. Assistant City Administrator Lee Jones said the city expects the temporary route to be designed and built "starting in 2027 through 2034." The permanent bypass still needs a commitment from ALDOT, and Jones said the city plans to revisit it with the new department director. Gulf Coast Media noted that the new director is expected to be named by the winner of Alabama's November 3 governor's race.
Mayor Robert Craft linked the bypass to the new bridge. He hopes the state will make the new southbound-only Waterway Bridge two-way, and told the council:
"It will become an evacuation route or a daily get-off-the-island route in addition to 59. If that happens, it's going to get busier and busier, and that will give us the opportunity to work with the state to get this road built and provide back to the citizens who live in Gulf Pines not to have to deal with that traffic."
What the Construction Zone Is Becoming
The detour and plaza budgets follow from a larger plan. The city calls it the Waterway Village transformation, and its stated goal is a safer, more walkable, more connected district. Design is underway for the next phase along East 2nd Street in the Gulf Pines area. It includes full road reconstruction between East 22nd and East 23rd Avenues, plus new on-street parking, wider sidewalks, stormwater upgrades, lighting, trees, benches and planting beds. The landscaping runs in two sections, East 22nd to East 24th Avenue south of the pedestrian bridge and East 25th Avenue to Waterway East Boulevard north of it. That phase is waiting on RESTORE Act funding approval, which the city expects to take about six months.
The district already has events. On November 15 at 2 p.m., the Waterway Village District hosts the inaugural Sunny 105 0.7K fun crawl/walk/run. Proceeds support Christmas efforts at the Christian Service Center's food pantry. On Gulf Shores Parkway, Caffeinatrix, a small-batch coffee roastery and tasting room, says it is coming in winter 2026 to 3757 Gulf Shores Pkwy., Unit BC, according to Gulf Coast Media's October restaurant roundup.
This winter, the Beach Express pair carries traffic both ways, Waterway East is expected to open by the end of the year, Canal Road traffic keeps detouring through Gulf Pines, and Hwy. 59 has two southbound lanes over the Holmes Bridge until the pedestrian bridge opens in spring 2027.
If you own near Waterway Village, Gulf Pines or the new SR-161 connections and want to know how these changes might affect your property's value, Shannon King Jha is happy to walk you through it. Request Your Home Valuation.
