Tuscaloosa City Council Echoes Calls for State to Buy Toll Bridge, Eliminate Fees

The Tuscaloosa City Council joined other prominent voices calling on Governor Kay Ivey to purchase the Black Warrior Parkway Toll Bridge and eliminate the fees required to traverse it.

As the Thread reported first, Alabama State Senator Gerald Allen is spearheading the effort to see the state buy this critical bridge across the river, especially after Ivey spent almost $60 million earlier this year to buy the Foley Beach Express in south Alabama and make it free for public use. 

Get our free mobile app

That bridge was owned by the almost century-old American Roads, LLC, who also operates the toll bridge here in Tuscaloosa where Joe Mellisham Parkway crosses the Black Warrior, linking west Tuscaloosa to the airport and more. A 2023 traffic count showed more than 8,000 vehicles use the bridge every day.

The company is headquartered in Detroit but was purchased by a Dutch investment firm in 2018, and Allen takes issue with West Alabama residents paying a "foreign" toll operator to cross the river, especially after they raised their rates to use the bridge in June. The senator said in September that he would begin pushing for the state to buy the bridge from the company then remove any tolls for drivers to cross it, and asked local governments to join him in that effort.

On Tuesday, the Tuscaloosa City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution urging Governor Ivey to begin negotiating the purchase of the bridge, using language drafted by Allen and fine-tuned by city attorney Scott Holmes.

Earlier this week, Northport City Administrator Glenda Webb presented the issue to the council there, who may adopt a resolution of their own in a future meeting.

It remains to be seen what impact if any these resolutions will have on Ivey and the Alabama Department of Transportation, but officials said backing the idea is a no-brainer as their constituents grapple with rising cost of living across just about every sector.

For more coverage of the campaign as it continues, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.