Marina Technologies Inc. (MTI) has been selected to provide floating docks for the Bayou La Batre City Docks Redevelopment Project in Mobile County, Alabama.
The marina basin in Bayou La Batre previously supported the city’s commercial fishing centre but declined after repeated storm damage, including Hurricane Katrina, as well as impacts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Plans for the redevelopment include a full-service marina with 50 wet slips, a floating fuel dock, a bait shop and an elevated marina building measuring about 6,108sqft (567 sqm).
MTI will install floating docks built with its aluminium dock system and composite decking designed to provide a non-skid surface. The layout includes new docks measuring eight and 10ft (two and three metres) wide, finger piers measuring three and four feet (about 0.9 and 1.2 metres) wide, and tee ends measuring six feet (1.8 metres) wide.
The system also features adjustable cleats, top-access utility troughs with aluminium covers, flexible rubber dock connections and PVC fendering with corner bumpers.
Bob Berry, project development manager at MTI, commented: “Marina Technologies was chosen for the project because our unique dock system is able to provide all the challenging requirements for this demanding application. The marina is designed to weather-the storms this area is known for and to provide decades of trouble-free service.”
The waterfront project will also introduce a seafood marketplace with open-air pavilions, restrooms and a shrimp boat sales pier.
Additional plans include a four-lane concrete boat ramp with protected courtesy docks and expanded parking. Work at the site also involves removing older structures, dredging the basin and installing new bulkheads, boardwalks, utilities, lighting, landscaping and benches.
Funding for the redevelopment has been provided through the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012, known as the RESTORE Act, administered by the United States Department of the Treasury.
The project began in August 2025 and is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2027. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on 8 September 2025. Once complete, the redevelopment is expected to support Bayou La Batre’s role as the “Seafood Capital of Alabama”.
Images courtesy of the City of Bayou La Batre / Moffatt & Nichol.
