Little Lagoon Pass to get new bridge in Gulf Shores, Alabama

[size=12pt]Little Lagoon Pass to get new bridge in Gulf Shores, Alabama
GULF SHORES, Alabama -- Imagine Little Lagoon pass with a new bridge and the crisp blue waters always navigable.
The state plans to build a new $12 million to $14 million span over the pass next summer.
As for keeping the popular public fishing spot off West Beach Boulevard open and sand-free, that’s an ongoing struggle, according to state and city officials.
"The new bridge will be wider and improved navigation will be a by-product," said Vince Calametti, division engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation in Mobile.
A two-lane temporary bridge will be put up while the old span is demolished and new one is built so traffic will not be effected, he said. Public meetings on the new bridge will be held next month or in January.
Keeping the inlet open for boaters and kayakers to travel to and from the Gulf is not the state’s goal, Calametti said. The state is responsible for maintaining the water quality and water transfer at the pass, which links the Gulf and the 2,225-acre environmentally sensitive estuary.
The city’s job is to survey the inlet once a week to make sure it’s open so water can flow through, according to Mark Acreman, the city’s public works director. If there is a problem, the city reports it to the state.
Last week, a three-story-high sand pile could be seen on the beach next to the jetties after being scooped out of the pass with a huge backhoe.
After the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach beach-renourishment project a couple of years ago, the sand was pushed out past the jetties, Calametti said.
"That makes it very difficult to maintain. The latorial drift goes east to west and sand comes into the pass," he said. "Our dredge is a small lagoon dredge and we can’t get big dredges to come into the shoreline. The only way we can do it is with a mechanical backhoe."
The state is working on a plan to redo the inlet and extend the jetties to improve maintenance, he said.
The city will encourage ALDOT to construct the bridge after the summer rental season, Mayor Robert Craft said.
Fixing the pass is an engineering challenge, Craft said.
"If there is a way to design and engineer it so the pass wouldn’t fill up with sand, I say let’s do it when the new bridge is being built."

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/11/lago...dge_in_gu.html[/size]

Wow. A big Pass like that could really change the makeup of the water in the Lagoon.

[size=14pt]Here are a few shots of the pass from today[/size]
http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/...1-21-11005.jpg
http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/...1-21-11003.jpg
http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/...1-21-11001.jpg

Pretty area, but obviously shallow. Easy to get sanded in I am sure.

http://blog.al.com/live/2012/05/gulf...goon_brid.html

Quote:

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[size=14pt]Gulf Shores' Little Lagoon bridge work could start this fall[/size]
Published: Friday, May 11, 2012, 4:27 AM Updated: Friday, May 11, 2012, 7:36 AM
By Kathy Jumper, Press-Register

Construction on a new bridge at Little Lagoon pass and a redesign of the channel could start in late fall and take almost two years to complete, according to state officials.

The estimated $8 million project must still get environmental approval from the Federal Highway Administration, according to Vince Calametti, division engineer for the Alabama Department of Transportation in Mobile.

The bids to build the bridge off West Beach Boulevard will be sought in early fall and work should begin after the annual Shrimp Festival, which is Oct. 11-14, he said.

The new two-lane bridge will be wider at 80 feet across, to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians crossing the bridge. The height will be the same, the old piling walls will be replaced and a walkway will be built underneath the bridge to allow folks to walk from the parking lot to the beach.

A good bit of the existing public beach parking at the pass will be used for equipment during construction, according to the city and Calametti. They are looking, however, at 3 acres east of the site that they may possibly lease from a private landowner to use for either parking or equipment.

Mayor Pro-tem Carolyn Doughty said the city will need to notify the public in advance of the bridge construction and look at finding some alternative parking.

The project will cause some inconvenience for visitors and residents, but there will always be access via a bridge to get across the pass, Calametti said. So far, the public response has been very positive, he said.

Prior to construction, the overhead utilities will be moved underground. Next, a detour bridge will be built north of the existing bridge, and then the existing roadway will be torn down and replaced.

At the same time, a new channel or inlet will be engineered and will require minimal maintenance, according to Calametti. The jetties will stretch to where the existing shoreline is today, he said.

"Improved navigation will be a byproduct of the new channel," Calametti said. "But water transfer and water quality are the goal." The state is responsible for maintaining water quality and water flow at the pass, which links the Gulf and the 2,225-acre, environmentally sensitive estuary.

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Wow I guess people do listen! I can't wait I hope they build the jetties out past the sand bar ...the fishing would be awesome....we use to catch huge trout and reds off that seawall when I was a kid....Oh and jump off the bridge ;-)

hows the fishing there now?
ive never been

Got a yak? Fish can still be caught but its alot more challenging!!

Fishing has been consistent right around the pass lately.... a few nice flatties, a good number of specks, and a ton of spanish on an incoming tide..



with the new bridge goodbye wadefishing spot, hello bullsharks

Gee I hope they get the seawall work done at Perdido Pass before they start on west pass!

Good point Wahoo.
It'd suk if they both going on concurrently.

I'm afraid Peaches may be correct about the bull sharks too ???
And don't fergit about 'flipper' gettin in there ::)

already seen a few pretty nice bull sharks in there... had 2 stringers taken from the yak close to the pass... i hate sharks

Um I heard a rumor that three really nice bull sharks :fishing: were found near the west pass that had gone home to be with the lord....

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Here’s what the pass looked like on 6-5-2012 and the parking lot was full.
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012012.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012011.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012009.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012008.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012010.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012007.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012006.jpg[/img]
[img width=720 height=540]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Around%20Town%20website/6-5-2012005.jpg[/img]
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Any flounder in the lagoon?

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Bubba, I’m sure there are, but I haven’t heard anyone talking about where they are catching them.
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The state lost a law suit; to home owners to the west of the pass.The jetties were blocking the sand from moving down the beach and caused the erosion of the beach west of jetties;,to the point where it put many of the houses in the water for more than a mile.The state shortened the jetties almost back to the beach;which helped ;but did not solve the problem.The loss by the state caused the removal of the jetties to where we see them today and the maintaning of the channel to certin spec.;and the sand that was removed from the channel to be placed on the west side of the inlet so it can continue its movement west ward. The plans to replace the bridge is fine;but any improvments to the inlet is problematic becuase it may produce the same conditions that lead to the law suit in the 1st place.My family was in the law suit because our beach house is a little over a mile and 1/4 from the inlet.