(OBA®) – Orange Beach, AL – On Sept. 18, the new, gleaming Performing Arts Center at the Orange Beach High/Middle School will play host to its first event with the presentation of Frozen Jr. The play will run Sept. 18-19 and Sept. 25-26. Get tickets here.

But the completion of that project, funded mostly by the city with some Baldwin County School Board money, is just one of several in the city in the planning stages for just in the nascent stages of construction. Perhaps the biggest of those will be the three-laning of Canal Road from Doc’s Seafood Shack and Oyster Bar to Wilson Boulevard near Oso Early, Avenue Pub and Hudson Marina. Projects being planned include 10-foot multimodal path from Wilson to Bear Point and a multimodal path from Gulf Bay Road to The Wharf.

“We’re hoping to begin by the end of the year,” Director of Community Development Kit Alexander said of three-lane project. “We had some utility issues that we’re working out and some final Restore Act funding issues that we’re working out. Once we get those worked out, we will submit to the Restore Federal Council.”

The Restore council has given preliminary approval to fund the project and the city is getting together final paperwork to activate the release of the money.

“They’ll review it and then we’ll bid the project once the federal council has approved the final documents,” Alexander said. “They assured us that the funds are available and now you have to submit the actual documents for their review for them to release the funding.”

Initially, the Restore funding for the project was about $1.8 million but the city then added the sidewalk project and it’s up to $3.5 million. Alexander said the city hopes to increase the Restore Act allotment to help cover some of those costs as well.

“We’ve added a multimodal path from 161 through the Justice Center and up to the east end of the project which is Wilson,” she said. “The overall cost is – it’s gone up because of the increased cost of construction and the addition of the multimodal path – about $3.5 million. We’ve been granted $1.8 million from the Restore Council and there’s an opportunity potentially to acquire additional funding and we’re working on that now.”

Other projects in Orange Beach include:

• A new Fire Station No. 5 in the vicinity of The Wharf

• The new Wildlife Center and Trail Shop near Powerline Road

• The Alabama Sea Turtle Center on State Route 161 near the water tower

• The rebuilding of the Edward Carroll Sr. Kids Park at Waterfront Park which is underway.

• The rebuilding of the Waterfront Park pier damaged in Sally

• Rebuilding of the Perdido Pass fishing wall after damage from hurricanes Sally and Ida

• Finishing touches to the new Coastal Resources office on Terry Cove adjacent to Tiki Bar at Safe Harbor Sportsman

EAST CANAL PATH FROM WILSON BOULEVARD TO BEAR POINT

A price tag has yet to be placed on this effort to make the city more golf-cart friendly.

“That’s now in design and we’re hoping to start that following the release of the bid for (the three-lane) project,” Alexander said. “We’re in design now and we’re hoping that we can start that sometime next year. I can’t put a cost on it because it’s in design. I’ll get those numbers probably in the next month or two.”

WEST CANAL PATH FROM GULF BAY ROAD TO THE WHARF

Federal monies will help with the cost of this project which will cost nearly $1 million.

“We acquired close to $400,000 through a Transportation Alternatives Program grant,” Alexander said. “It’s a federal grant that is overseen and we work with ALDOT for that. It’s just short of $1 million. And, Tom Thumb has also provided funds for this section of the multimodal that’s going in front of the Tom Thumb.”

It will actually be a connector from Oak Road, or the shopping center where the Undertow is located, all the way to The Wharf but the eastern-most portion is basically done because of the Commercial Avenue service road.

“Oak Street to Gulf Bay is just basically taking the existing roadway and kind of restriping that to make room for pedestrian way on that drive aisle that’s there in front of those commercial businesses,” Alexander said. “So, the real construction is from Gulf Bay Road to East Wharf Parkway.”

WILDLIFE CENTER/COASTAL RESOURCES OFFICE

Coastal Resources Operations Manager Wade Stevens said this new center to replace the one at the recreation center campus is close to being approved by the state.

“The new trail shop and wildlife center building just finished its review by the state building commission and will also go out for bid shortly,” Stevens said. “Down at our new office on Walker Avenue the crews have just returned to finish up the marina and additional parking.

ALABAMA SEA TURTLE CENTER

This project is being hamstrung like so many others, public and private, by finding crews and materials to build just about anything.

“Getting things done is tough all around right now construction wise,” Steven said. “Moving slow like everything else right now. Still in progress though.”

Stevens said the plans for the mechanical, electric and plumbing for the center are about complete and will go out for bid. According to city documents, C-Spire is looking to locate some equipment in the same general area and they may have some effects on the project. Permitting for C-Spire was discussed at the Sept. 7 council work session.

The center has Restore Act funding and will give Orange Beach the ability to assess injured and ill sea turtles without sending them off to a long-term rehabilitation facility. It will provide an urgent care center to treat turtles not seriously injured or those not in need of a long-term rehab stay, Stevens said.

WATERFRONT PARK PLAYGROUND

A fire at the factory for Playworld caused delays in the start of this project the city hoped to complete earlier this summer. The work space has construction skirting up and some infrastructure is going up. The city hopes to open the park early next month.

WATERFRONT PARK FISHING PIER

The city is still weighing options on the repair of the pier based on how much will be funded by federal payments from FEMA.

PERDIDO PASS FISHING WALL

It is in the redesign phase once again after repairs following Hurricane Sally weren’t able to be completed before Hurricane Ida further damaged the infrastructure there.

FIRE STATION NO. 5

The new station was nearing completion of the design phase in March and it will be located on the southeast corner of Canal Road and Powerline Road.

The former location at The Wharf’s old sales office developed problems that can’t be overcome and the city moved Station No. 5 to the old public works office on the east end of the school campus. The council recently voted to have a bay constructed there to house firetrucks.