A revenue sharing program for four Gulf of Mexico states could be used by Alabama to pay for a chunk of the proposed $850 million Interstate 10 Bridge and Bayway expansion project, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne said Tuesday.

Byrne, speaking before 170 people attending a Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast at the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel, said he believes money coming into Alabama from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA) can be applied for hurricane route construction and that the I-10 Bridge project would qualify.

GOMESA money, which will be available to the state in 2017 for projects in Mobile and Baldwin counties only, is supposed to go toward coastal conservation, restoration and hurricane protection.

"It has a wide variety of uses that include hurricane evacuation routes," Byrne said. "The question is what the priorities are for that money? If you ask me, as someone who lives in Mobile and Baldwin counties, I don't know of a bigger priority for these two counties than to get this bridge built."

The federal money, which is administered in Alabama through Gov. Robert Bentley's administration, is a separate pool of funds from the RESTORE Act, which is composed of BP Oil settlement money that will be filtered back to Gulf Coast states, including Alabama.

GOMESA provides revenue to Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Texas to compensate the states for the environmental impact of oil and gas exploration.

Byrne said the use of the money would be favorable over tolling. The Alabama Department of Transportation is currently awaiting a study to be completed later this summer that will analyze whether the interstate bridge can be paid for through tolls.

"There are quite a bit of ways to fund (the bridge project) between bonding and tolling and GOMESA," Mike Lee, chairman of the chamber's Build the Bridge coalition, said.

Environmental concerns

Utilizing GOMESA money for the bridge could take money away from environmental projects, Byrne acknowledged.

He said BP oil spill settlement money will likely be used for environmental mitigation projects.

"To govern is to choose," Byrne said, referring to prioritizing GOMESA money for the I-10 Bridge and Bayway expansion instead of an environmentally-focused project. "You have to choose what your priorities are."

Casi Callaway, executive director with Mobile Baykeeper - an environmental advocacy organization -- declined to comment specifically about utilizing GOMESA money for the bridge project, but she said that in general, her organization is pushing for a bridge project that "protects the environment" and "does not cause harm."

Specifically, Mobile Baykeeper supports the inclusion of building four flow-through bridges along the Causeway that would allow for more fresh and saltwater exchanges between the Delta and Mobile Bay.

"You can use environmental restoration money right there," Callaway said, estimating the project would cost around $75 million. "You can mitigate (the bridge project) with a good environmental project that could have a lasting impact."

Byrne also said he's not worried about the Obama Administrations proposal to "redirect" GOMESA money from the Gulf Coast states to the Treasury for national programs.

"I don't sense any movement in Congress to do that," Byrne said about proposals to dilute the money that comes into the Gulf Coast.

Foxx cancellation

Byrne's comments came after U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx canceled his trip to Mobile, citing concerns about the weather. Foxx was scheduled to get an update on the local support for the I-10 Bridge project, as well as provide details about funding programs that could help pay for the massive infrastructure job.

Byrne said that Foxx plans to reschedule.

"We, of course, are disappointed he didn't make it," Lee said. "The important thing is he has demonstrated that this is a high enough profile of a project and we have his attention and support."

Transportation funding alternatives

Meanwhile, Byrne said he is confident there can be a short-term $11 million extension of the Highway Trust Fund approved by Congress soon. He said a longer term program - a six-year extension, which could include money that can be utilized for the I-10 Bridge project - could also be approved soon.

Federal lawmakers have not passed a transportation package that lasts longer than two years since 2005.

"I think it's more likely we'll get a long-term highway fix in Washington by the end of July," Byrne said. "We're tired of kicking the can down the road."

Funding continues to be an issue. Raising the federal gasoline tax is not an option, Byrne said, but a proposal to charge taxes on corporate revenue repatriated from overseas is under consideration.

Also being discussed is replacing fuel taxes paid at the pump with a per mile charge for us of public roads. Taxes would be determined, through a device installed into vehicles, based on the number of miles driven within a vehicle.

But Byrne said that tracking mileage invites potential invasive action by the federal government.

"The privacy concerns are real," he said. "In order to get me to vote for it, they have to make sure they are not invading the citizens' privacy."