There is a rule of thumb in real estate that applies everywhere but hits especially hard in fast-growing coastal markets: follow the infrastructure. Roads, bridges, and interchanges do not just move cars — they move property values. And right now, Baldwin County is in the middle of the most significant infrastructure investment cycle in its history.
I want to walk through the major projects currently underway or advancing through design, explain what each one means for the communities it connects, and help buyers and investors understand how these improvements are likely to affect the real estate landscape over the next several years.
The Intracoastal Waterway Bridge: Open by Memorial Day
The project generating the most immediate excitement is the new Intracoastal Waterway Bridge along the Baldwin Beach Express corridor. This 52-million-dollar ALDOT project is designed to reduce congestion to Alabama's beaches and improve safety for the millions of visitors and residents who cross the waterway each year.
As of early April 2026, the project is nearly complete. The bridge substructure and steel girders are 100 percent finished. Superstructure work is at 95 percent. Roadway work is at 90 percent. ALDOT has announced that two lanes of traffic with one-way flow across the new bridge will open on or before Memorial Day 2026 — just in time for the start of the summer tourism season.
When the project reaches full completion this summer, the new bridge and the existing Beach Express bridge will each carry two lanes of traffic, effectively doubling capacity across the Intracoastal Waterway along the Baldwin County coast. If you have ever sat in Beach Express traffic on a summer Saturday afternoon waiting to cross the waterway, you understand why this matters. Doubling that crossing capacity changes the traffic equation for every property along the corridor.
For real estate, the implications are direct. Properties along the Beach Express — particularly commercial parcels and residential communities between Foley and Gulf Shores — become more accessible and more attractive when the bottleneck at the waterway crossing is eliminated. Rental properties benefit from easier guest access during peak season. Commercial land benefits from higher traffic counts with less congestion.
The Tensaw River Bridge: A New Causeway Crossing
Further north, ALDOT is well into construction on the 78.8-million-dollar replacement of the westbound Tensaw River Bridge on the US-90 Causeway. This bridge, located near the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, has been a critical link between Mobile and Baldwin County for decades, and the existing structure has reached the end of its useful life.
The replacement bridge is being built by Scott Bridge Construction to modern standards, with a durable concrete structure designed for long-term resilience. One notable addition: the new bridge will include a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle path — a first for this crossing — which aligns with the broader trend toward multi-modal transportation infrastructure along the Gulf Coast.
The project is on schedule for completion in fall 2027. While it does not directly serve the beach communities, the Causeway is the primary east-west artery connecting Baldwin County to Mobile, and its reliability affects everything from commute times for Eastern Shore residents to logistics for businesses operating in both counties.
For the Eastern Shore communities of Spanish Fort, Daphne, and Fairhope, a modern Causeway crossing reinforces the viability of living in Baldwin County while working in Mobile — a commute pattern that has driven significant residential growth over the past two decades.
Baldwin Beach Express II: The Corridor Gets Longer
The Baldwin Beach Express has already transformed the relationship between Foley and the beaches. Now, the planned northern extension — Baldwin Beach Express II — is moving from concept to engineering.
In February 2026, the Baldwin County Commission approved an engineering services agreement with Volkert, Inc. to design upgrades for the northernmost 4.9-mile section of the corridor, extending from US Highway 31 to Interstate 65. Design work is expected to take approximately 12 months, with construction projected to begin about two years after that.
The full vision is ambitious: a continuous 25-mile transportation corridor from Interstate 10 to Interstate 65, with updated interchanges at US 31 and I-65, a new interchange serving the Novelis aluminum facility in Bay Minette, and expansion to six lanes in key high-traffic sections. The commission also adopted an updated Access Management Plan in January 2026 to control how development interfaces with the corridor — a sign that the county is thinking carefully about long-term land use along the route.
For real estate, Baldwin Beach Express II is the project that connects the beach economy to the interstate system and to the industrial growth happening in north Baldwin County. Properties along the corridor between Foley and Bay Minette stand to benefit as the expressway creates a development axis that links manufacturing jobs, residential communities, and beach access into a single continuous route.
The Waterway Village Pedestrian Bridge
In Gulf Shores proper, the city is advancing a pedestrian bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway as part of its BUILD Grant project. This 24.3-million-dollar initiative, supported by 7.9 million dollars in federal BUILD grant funding and 3.6 million in state funding, will connect the north and south sides of the Waterway District with a pedestrian overpass at the 90-degree turn at East Second Street and Canal Road.
The bridge will include pedestrian plazas on both sides of the waterway, a series of ramps, and an elevator for accessibility. Utility and storm drain installation on the south side is complete, and all projects are scheduled for completion by summer 2026.
This is a different kind of infrastructure investment — not about moving cars, but about creating walkable connectivity in the heart of Gulf Shores. The Waterway District has been a focus of commercial and mixed-use development, and a pedestrian bridge that lets residents and visitors cross the waterway on foot fundamentally changes the character of the area. Properties within walking distance of the bridge gain a connectivity premium that did not exist before.
The West Lagoon Avenue Sidewalk Extension
A smaller but meaningful project: the City of Gulf Shores is extending sidewalks from where West Lagoon Avenue splits off West Beach Boulevard to 11th Street, at a cost of just over one million dollars. This fills a gap in the pedestrian network along one of the primary residential corridors near the beach.
Sidewalk investments like this one tend to be underappreciated by investors but valued highly by the families and retirees who actually live in these neighborhoods year-round. Walkability is increasingly a factor in purchase decisions, particularly for buyers relocating from larger cities where they are accustomed to being able to walk to shops, restaurants, and the beach.
What History Tells Us
Baldwin County has been here before on a smaller scale. The original Baldwin Beach Express, the Gulf Shores International Airport expansion, and the toll removal in 2024 each triggered measurable shifts in property values along the corridors they served. The pattern is consistent: infrastructure investment leads to increased access, which leads to increased demand, which leads to appreciation.
The current cycle is larger in scope and dollar value than anything the county has previously undertaken. Multiple projects are advancing simultaneously across different parts of the county, which means the benefits are distributed rather than concentrated in a single corridor.
For buyers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: properties that are well-positioned relative to these infrastructure improvements — along the Beach Express corridor, near the Waterway District, on the Eastern Shore commute route — are likely to see enhanced accessibility and demand over the next three to five years as these projects reach completion.
Timing Matters
Infrastructure projects create value in stages. The planning and design phase generates awareness. The construction phase creates temporary inconvenience but also anticipation. The completion phase delivers the access improvement and triggers the demand response.
Right now, the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge is weeks from opening. The Tensaw River Bridge is mid-construction. Baldwin Beach Express II is entering design. Each is at a different point in that value-creation cycle, which means the window for buying ahead of completion varies by project and location.
If you are evaluating properties in Baldwin County and want to understand how these infrastructure projects affect specific neighborhoods or corridors, I would welcome the opportunity to discuss your situation and help you position your purchase relative to the improvements that matter most for your goals.