It was named for the jubilee phenomenon that occurs intermittently in Mobile Bay, but is commonly referred to locally and in the media as the "Bayway".

[3] Since 2001, the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) has planned to expand the parkway to a total of eight lanes in addition to a connecting cable-stayed bridge with a main span 1,250 feet (381 m) long and 190 feet (58 m) high that would bypass the George Wallace Tunnel.

This is intended to eliminate the current traffic bottleneck on I-10 at the tunnel,[2] but is very controversial locally due to the proposed bridge's potential visual and economic impact on the city.

Caused by fog on Mobile Bay, the accident involved around 200 vehicles, killed one person, and injured more than 90 others.

Asked why the Bayway wasn't sanded or salted, ALDOT officials said that they did not have the spreader equipment since ice storms occur in the area only about once every 20 years.