Mobile City Council members were briefed July 22 on plans to rebuild the main entry road to the Mobile Airport Authority (MAA) North site and on the airport project’s updated schedule. Staff said grant funding will cover the city’s portion of the work.

City staff described why the council is asked to accept a right-of-way deed via an option agreement and outlined partners and funding. “We’re actually gonna utilize an option agreement to acquire that right away deed…so that we can comply with the number of grants and grant funding deadlines and requirements that are going into the development of that site,” a council member explained during the pre-meeting briefing.

The briefing said the road project is a roughly $6,000,000 rebuild that will be funded by multiple sources and will not require direct city cash. The presentation listed partners as the Mobile Airport Authority, the city, the Industrial Development Board, and the state; staff said the partners used “Growing Alabama credits, industrial access grant credits, seed program credits” to assemble funding. A city official described the project as repaving and widening the main new entry road into the site.

Council members asked about whether a pedestrian bridge could be added; the mayor and staff said they would request a more detailed briefing from airport officials. The mayor relayed that the airport chairman told the council the project was “back on budget,” and an airport official at the meeting said the airport’s scheduled opening is now September 2026.

No formal vote on the right-of-way transaction or the road contract was recorded in the pre-meeting transcript; staff said the mechanics of the acquisition had changed from prior meeting materials and that the packet for this meeting reflected that substitution.

Why it matters: the roadway is a key piece of infrastructure for development at the MAA North site; using grant funds reduces the city’s direct capital burden but requires timely compliance with grant conditions.

Council members asked for a site briefing and were told airport staff can provide more detail and a site visit. The pre-meeting did not record final approvals or contract awards for the road; staff said the option agreement and right-of-way acceptance are being used to meet grant deadlines.