By Alabama Public Radio
Mobile, AL – The state Conservation Department is removing several eyesores on state property along the Mobile Bay Causeway. They'll be demolished in an effort to turn the highway into a federally recognized scenic route. Will Brantley of department's lands division says vacant buildings, concrete pads and hazardous piers along the shoreline will be removed at eight locations. He says the work began earlier this month and should be completed by late summer. The state will then decide future uses for the tracts being cleared. An environmental group is pushing for more public access or "green space" at the sites to enhance the Causeway's views of the bay and the Mobile Delta. Brantley says there are possibilities for a boardwalk and a crabbing or fishing pier to boost tourism.