Preliminary construction has begun on a project that will temporarily close a key entrance to Mobile’s Brookley Aeroplex as officials prepare for the opening of the new Mobile International Airport in early 2027.
Planned closure to improve traffic flow to new airport
At the Mobile Airport Authority’s regular meeting Wednesday, acting executive director Adam Hays said crews started preliminary work this week and full construction work is scheduled to begin next week. The work will culminate with a temporary closure of Michigan Avenue — the road that provides a direct connection from Interstate 10 to the Brookley campus — with that shutdown likely to begin sometime in October.
Project leaders say the intersection where Broad Street meets Michigan Avenue will be replaced with a larger roundabout. Airport officials have long argued that the new traffic circle is necessary to handle the vehicle volumes expected when the new airport opens.
“This intersection is critical for the opening of our airport as well as to serve Brookley as a whole,” Hays said.
Hays told the board the authority looked at options for keeping the intersection open during construction but determined that maintaining traffic through the work would extend the schedule and raise costs. “It was kind of a no brainer,” he said. “We had to go ahead and shut it all down.”
What residents and travelers should expect
Officials have not released exact dates for the start of the closure or how long the shutdown will last, saying those details will be announced later. During construction, Broad Street will remain a point of access to the Brookley site, the authority said, while the larger roundabout is built to manage traffic into the airport and surrounding development.
- Preliminary work: Began this week.
- Full construction: Scheduled to begin next week.
- Expected closure: Likely to start in October; duration to be announced.
- Reason: Replace T-intersection with larger roundabout to improve traffic flow for the new airport.
The roundabout is the second traffic-circle project tied to the airport. Earlier this year, work connecting the airport entrance road to Perimeter Road led to a mid-June closure of Perimeter Road; that road was reopened ahead of schedule in late August, authority records show.
| Milestone | Date (from authority statements) |
|---|---|
| Perimeter Road closure | Mid-June (reopened late August) |
| Preliminary work on Broad/Michigan roundabout | This week (authority meeting report) |
| Full construction start | Next week (authority report) |
| Probable Michigan Avenue closure | October (timing to be confirmed) |
| New airport opening | Early 2027 (authority projection) |
Local impacts and preparations
Michigan Avenue serves as a primary link between I-10 and Brookley’s businesses, hangars and the future airport terminal. A temporary closure of that connector is likely to change commuting patterns for employees and visitors, reroute traffic onto alternate surface streets and could affect deliveries and on-site operations at Brookley during the work.
Airport authority leaders emphasized the timing is intended to ensure the roundabout is in place before the new terminal opens, avoiding immediate congestion problems for travelers arriving at Mobile’s new airport. Authority officials said more detailed traffic plans and closure timelines will be released in the coming weeks, and drivers should watch for official updates and posted detours.
As the project moves forward, residents and commuters can expect additional information from the Mobile Airport Authority about lane closures, detour routes and the anticipated schedule for reopening Michigan Avenue.
