Causeway Project Will Help Protect Access to Dauphin Island

If you've traveled to Dauphin Island in the past two years, you've obviously noticed all the work that's ongoing along the Dauphin Island Causeway. Rows of riprap, piles of dredge material and heavy equipment dot the east side of the roadway for more than 3 miles.

The Dauphin Island Causeway Shoreline Restoration Project is being done in three phases to enhance and protect the only access road from Dauphin Island to the Mobile County mainland.

Phase 1 included building segmented breakwaters with the rock along 3-plus miles of the Causeway, with the northern section running from Bayfront Park to Jemison's Bait Shop and the southern section from Heron Bay Cutoff to Cedar Point.

Phase 2 includes taking dredge material from work being done on the Mobile Ship Channel and the turning basin and placing it between the Causeway and breakwaters. A sand berm will also be constructed next to the breakwaters for additional containment and a mimicking of the natural habitat.

Phase 3 includes planting native grasses and creating tidal creeks after the marsh platform is established. The gaps in the breakwaters will allow tidal flow and provide nursery habitat for species like shrimp, crabs and a variety of fish species. The vegetation is expected to take three to five years to become fully established.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did a preliminary report in 2004 that indicated work needed to be done to protect the Causeway because of its vulnerability to tropical storms, from depressions to full-blown hurricanes. The roadway was typically flooded and sometimes washed out during the storms. The Mobile County Environmental Services started working with Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) Commissioner Chris Blankenship and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program back in 2018 to start the restoration process.

"The community has been aware of this problem, and we've been trying to come together to get the resources to restore it for more than 20 years," said Tina Sanchez, Mobile County Environmental Services Director.

After the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) approved Mobile County's proposal for funding the start of the project, work began on the breakwater system, completed in 2024. The breakwater system protects from wave action and contains dredge and other material that will be placed between the Causeway and the breakwaters to establish a living marsh.

"Right now, this is the exciting time," Sanchez said. "I think it's important to talk about the beneficial use of the dredge material. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is placing material from the dredging of the ship channel on-site to restore about 100 acres of marsh.

"This would not be possible without multiple partnerships and the beneficial use program (dredge material) moving forward. We couldn't have done this without the beneficial use material by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We got it for a dollar per cubic yard. If it hadn't been available, and if the Corps did not place it themselves, I don't know if this project would be possible. The availability of the material at a low cost was the key component of this project moving forward."

The marsh habitat will be restored all the way to Cedar Point with the exception of Heron Bay Cutoff. Placing the dredge material should be finished by late fall this year.

"This is a great example of a project that benefits the ecosystem and community resilience factor," Sanchez said. "The shoreline stabilization protects the newly restored marsh, but it also protects the road that is the only way in and out of Dauphin Island. And, importantly, it also protects the 200 to 300 acres of marsh to the west of the Causeway. It's also critical habitat for the critters we love to catch and eat, and it's buffering from storm surge. It's a mitigation project for coastal hazards and to protect the environment."

Commissioner Blankenship is a Dauphin Island native and is fully aware of what the Causeway project means to the island, especially during times of bad weather.

"This is a very large project that has taken great coordination between Mobile County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Moffat and Nichols, ADCNR, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Mobile Bay NEP, and many others," said Commissioner Blankenship. "It makes me happy to see the progress on this project every time I travel to Dauphin Island. Seeing big projects like this come together and move toward the finish line gives all of us in this process a great sense of accomplishment. I am so thankful for the working relationships we have in Coastal Alabama! It is a lot of really good people doing really good things."

Dauphin Island Major Jeff Collier believes the Causeway project will have a significant impact for those who live on the barrier island.

"I think the thing that is most important to Dauphin Island is the fact it's going to help protect and defend our only ingress and egress," Mayor Collier said. "That area gets quite vulnerable during tropical storms. By virtue of this project, it should provide us a little more time to evacuate if necessary. It's going to buy us more time on the front end, and, on the back end of a storm, I think it's going to allow re-entry a little quicker. I think it's going to shorten our down time during those types of events.

"Of course, that's not to mention all the contributions this will make to the environment and habitat. We're all about ecotourism, and all of this ties together."

The engineering firm Moffat & Nichol has been involved in the Causeway project since the design phase. Meg Goecker, Vice President and Senior Coastal Scientist with Moffat & Nichol, said the Causeway restoration plans had to be mindful of all species of plants and animals impacted by the construction.

"We were very close to the public oyster reefs, so we had to be very careful with that design to contain all the sediment," Goecker said. "The Corps put that dredge material on a scow and moved it all the way down the ship channel to pump it behind the breakwaters. Otherwise, they were going to dump all that material offshore or in an upland disposal site. It's protecting about 3.5 miles of the Causeway.

"It's great because when that east wind blows, your car isn't full of saltwater and there's no debris on the road. It will help more people get off the island during a storm before they close the Causeway. Besides creating great habitat, it's helping all the Dauphin Island residents be a little safer. It's a really good example of the Corps and the county working together through the complicated process to be able to use that material. The Corps was very dedicated to using this material for this project."

Goecker echoed the assessment that the Corps' dedication making the dredge material available for the Causeway project removed a huge hurdle.

"If we had tried to source 900,000 cubic yards of material to make the marsh platform, it would have cost between $20 and $30 a yard to truck it in," she said. "The Corps only charged $1 per cubic yard. That price difference helped the Corps reach their beneficial use goals they had set for the dredge material. We've lost so many wetlands, so this makes these restoration projects a whole lot cheaper."

Goecker said the proximity of the Causeway project to some of Alabama's most productive oyster reefs makes her excited about the future of oyster production

"This is one of the best spots for oyster spat and oyster growth," she said. "With all of those rocks, I think probably next spring we'll see good adult oysters on those rocks. Those rocks can act as little oyster sanctuaries, where they can feed the public reefs by putting out more spat.

"With Phase 3 next year with the tidal creeks and marsh platform, it's kind of like giving Mother Nature a little kick-start. And, if you're a bird lover, I drove by recently and there were thousands of birds. There's nothing birds love more than dredge material. It's got lots of food. People who know birds have made that a birding spot with their cameras and big lenses."

Funding for the $30 million project came from NFWF's Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund derived from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement and NFWF's Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund.

"We've been working on what we call transformational projects in Mobile County using oil spill dollars," Sanchez said. "This is an opportunity for the (Mobile County) Commission to transform south Mobile County by investing in infrastructure that benefits the residents and visitors and the marshes in south Mobile County.

"Commissioner Chris Blankenship has been a strong advocate for this project. We work closely with the Department of Conservation on this project and others because we share the commitment to using oil spill dollars to make south Mobile County a better place to live."