Gulf Shores, Ala. – (OBA) – Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said he and other city officials will be meeting in the coming weeks to decide how the city can handle burgeoning costs for several projects planned in 2024. Craft made his remarks at the end of a Jan. 2 council work session.

“Everything is coming in significantly higher than we budgeted,” Craft said. “We’re to the point of having to make some really hard decisions. We don’t have anything to report tonight but just know within the next couple of weeks it’s something we’ll be talking about and giving more information and details about what and why.”

One of those in question is the pedestrian bridge planned over the Intracoastal Waterway at the 90-degree turn at East Second Street and Canal Road.

“We’ve got transportation projects, we’ve got a pedestrian bridge challenge from a cost standpoint we’re working through,” Craft said. “We’re going to get real busy. I don’t have a presentation on that yet because we haven’t concluded the funding and the and the projects and it doesn’t appear that we can do all of them.”

The need for a pedestrian bridge comes as the city adds a third southbound lane on State Route 59 from the Target shopping center to Fort Morgan Road. Pedestrian access on the now two-lane western span will be used for the third lane over the bridge.

“We’re trying to coordinate how do we react to how to get this pedestrian bridge built before they open up the third lane on (State Route) 59,” Craft said.

Another one is the construction of the new Gulf Shores High School at the southwest intersection of Coastal Gateway Boulevard and the Beach Express.

“The preliminary site work for the new high school has been completed,” Superintendent Dr. Matt Akin said. “We are still working with the city to evaluate the bid for the building and hope to have an answer soon.”

Addressing funding for both of those projects and others will be the subject of the upcoming meetings, Craft said.

“So, how do we do what we do, what’s our priorities?” Craft said. “We will be meeting twice this week. The finance committee will be making recommendations and we’ll probably have some type of retreat or some type of special council meeting for us to uniformly decide what’s your priorities.”