Former U.S. 43 (Telegraph Road, Beauregard & Broad Streets - Mobile)
Former U.S. 43 south
Southbound Telegraph Road at the abandoned (and since dismantled) Viaduct Bridge. Traffic of Telegraph Road now defaults onto adjacent Dekle Road through the Alabama State Docks area. Access to Beauregard Street is still possible via the Dekle to Delchamps Road alignment to the east.
Photo taken 01/08/02.
This photograph, taken from the right-hand shoulder of Interstate 165 northbound, shows the forgotten overheads on the bridge, and portions of the Alabama State Docks rail yard. Photo taken 01/08/02.
As of November 2003, this shield assembly includes the only U.S. 43 reassurance shield left over from the original Mobile city routing. The assembly is posted underneath the Interstate 165 southbound viaduct where Conception Street Road turns north. Traffic can turn left here to return to Water or Beauregard Streets or turn into the adjacent Jackson Street public housing complex. Photo taken 11/03/03.
U.S. 43 southbound shield with U.S. 90 and 98 trailblazers. This shield assembly was located southbound as traffic turned from Interstate 165/former U.S. 43 south onto Beauregard Street west. This street now carries U.S. 90 and Truck U.S. 98 westbound. Photo taken 06/01.
Westbound on Beauregard Street with not only a U.S. 43 shield, but also a Truck U.S. 90 shield. Shield assembly was located between Jackson Street and Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. Photo taken 06/01.
The former Southern terminus of U.S. 43. Upon the relocation of U.S. 90 onto Broad and Beauregard Streets, Interstate 165, and Bay Bridge Road (the former Truck U.S. 90 route), U.S. 43 saw truncation to the Telegraph/Bay Bridge Road intersection in Prichard. This view looks Southbound at the intersection of Broad Street (U.S. 90 West/U.S. 98 East) at Government Street (U.S. 90 to the West, U.S. 98 to the East). Photo taken 10/26/99.
Even with U.S. 90 related sign posting along Interstate 165 by Fall of 1999, U.S. 43 end signage remained in place until November 2001. This photograph looks at the end shield during June of 2001. Note also that the traffic lights in the above photograph were switched from a
vertical to horizontal orientation.
Close-up of the removed End signage on Broad Street Southbound. At one time both U.S. 31 and U.S. 45 terminated here as well. Sadly, a litter control sign now takes the place of this one time terminus shield. Photo taken 10/26/99.
Current U.S. 43 (Tennessee to Prichard)
U.S. 43 South
U.S. 43 south & U.S. 82 east at the northern end of the Black Warrior Parkway (Tuscaloosa West Bypass). This two lane highway travels south to Interstate 20-59 Exit 69. The crossing over the Black Warrior River is tolled. Photo taken 09/28/03.
U.S. 82 eastbound splits with U.S. 43 southbound at Alabama 69 in Northport. Downtown Tuscaloosa is two miles to the right. There U.S. 43 and Alabama 69 southbound encounter the north end of Interstate 359 and U.S. 11. To the left Alabama 69 northbound travels 20 miles to Windam Springs, crossing over Lake Tuscaloosa on the way. Photo taken 09/28/03.
Junction Alabama 215 shield, posted near the southbound end of the Black Warrior River Bridge on U.S. 43/Alabama 69 south. The intersection ahead is with the east-west University Boulevard. This surface arterial is not actually apart of Alabama 215, but carries traffic one block east to the state highway.Alabama 215 actually turns southward on 24th Avenue one block to the east. So University Boulevard acts as a connector to the route, as it turns from east-west through the University of Alabama campus southward . Photo taken 08/10/02.
U.S. 43 & Alabama 69 southbound at University Boulevard in downtown Tuscaloosa. Alabama 215 travels west from the University of Alabama campus to 24th Street, one block to the east of U.S. 43 & Alabama 69. From that intersection southward, the highway parallels Interstate 359 and Alabama 69 to U.S. 11 and an ultimate conclusion at U.S. 82. Photo taken 08/10/02.
U.S. 43 sees a 24 mile overlap with U.S. 11 from the city of Tuscaloosa southwest to the Greene County seat of Eutaw (pop. 1,878). In downtown Eutaw, the cosigning concludes at the central square. Here U.S. 43 enters a short overlap with the east-west Alabama 14. This photograph reveals a shield assembly at the intersection where U.S. 11 leaves U.S. 43. Photo taken 08/10/02.
The only set of U.S. 43 and Alabama 14 shields for the
overlap in the south/east direction within Eutaw. Behind the camera is the downtown square and U.S. 11.
Alabama 14 enters Eutaw from the west and shares pavement with U.S. 11 for one block, before the two highways
intersect with U.S. 43. The confusion of 1's, 3's, and 4's in Eutaw can be daunting when first entering the
town. Photo taken 08/10/02.
This photograph looks at the east/south split of the U.S.
43/Alabama 14 cosigning. Alabama 14 sinks southeastward to Wedgeworth, Sawyerville, and Greensboro (pop. 2,731). U.S.
43 meanwhile turns southward again to Forkland (pop. 629) and the city of Demopolis (pop. 7,540). Photo taken 08/10/02.
Southbound U.S. 43 at the Alabama 69 interchange near the town
of Jackson (pop. 5,419). Traffic between the two highways utilizes connector ramps on the south side of the
Alabama 69 overpass. There is surprisingly no traffic light posted at the intersection. Photo taken 02/10/02.
The southern terminus of Alabama 177 as seen from U.S. 43 south. The sun glare created unnatural lighting in this photograph, but U.S. 43 can be seen as it sweeps to the southwest towards the Tombigbee River Bridges. Photo taken 02/10/02.
Southbound U.S. 43 approaching Washington County 6
at Wagarville. U.S. 43 is very rural with a 65 mph speed limit and only scattered homes and industrial sites
dotting the landscape in the county. This portion and photograph of U.S. 43 is similar in looks to that of
the four-lane section of U.S. 17 north of Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Take a gander at this
photograph and see for yourself. Photo taken 02/10/02.
Approaching the eastern terminus of Alabama 158 in the city of
Satsuma. Alabama 158/Industrial Parkway travels westward to the Exit 13 interchange of Interstate 65. The
highway eventually concludes at U.S. 45 near Kushla. Photo taken 11/04/03.
The intersection of U.S. 43 & Alabama 158 saw reconstruction
during September of 2003. The project saw the repaving of the Craft Highway with concrete in the vicinity of
Alabama 158. Heavy trucks routinely travel through this junction, thus causing rutting and other pavement
damage to the highway surface. The ALDOT project will help mitigate some of these issues.
Photo taken 11/04/03.
Norfolk Southern Railroad truss bridge over the Chickasaw Bogue Creek on the east side of U.S. 43. This bridge straddles the city line between Chickasaw and Saraland. Photo taken 10/26/99.
Southbound reassurance shield near the Prichard/Chickasaw
city limits line. Mileposts throughout this stretch reflect the new terminus at Bay Bridge Road (U.S. 90 &
Truck U.S. 98) at Prichard. However with that stated, many of the mile markers appear to be fairly old. So
either ALDOT had the truncation planned all along, or U.S. 43 mileage south of Bay Bridge Road utilized
another numbering system. Even with that stated, an earlier routing of U.S. 43 took the highway along
Craft Highway into downtown Prichard. Photo taken 10/26/99.
Advance signage on U.S. 43 southbound for the southern
terminus at the intersection with Traffic Street. Traffic Street is a leftover from the altered street grid
affected by the reconstruction of Bay Bridge Road. The roadway now acts as a mult-lane connector with Telegraph
Road and U.S. 90/Truck U.S. 98. Neighborhood areas within the vicinity of Telegraph and Bay Bridge Roads are
buffeted by paper mills and other industrial facilities along the Mobile River to the east. The stench in the
air can be quite nauseating at times, therefore deteriorating the overall quality of life here. In 2000,
International Paper closed a major facility nearby. Photo taken 10/25/03.
U.S. 43 draws to a close without an end shield posted.
Telegraph Road continues ahead to the Alabama State Docks underneath Bay Bridge Road (U.S. 90 & U.S. 98 Truck).
Bay Bridge Road saw reconstruction and a new alignment to coincide with the October 28, 1994 opening of Interstate
165 to the east. The result of this project was the replacement of the Telegraph Road intersection with the overpass
visible in the background. U.S. 90 & U.S. 98 Truck shields once accompanied this Interstate 165 trailblazer.
Photo taken 10/25/03.
Traffic Street Connector
Traffic Street eastbound at U.S. 43 North/Telegraph Road.
The cities of Chickasaw, Saraland, and Satsuma are to the left. To the right are the Alabama State Docks
and downtown Mobile. Photo taken 10/25/03.
A midpoint view of Traffic Street. The connector features long
turn lanes for wide turning truck traffic to/from the State Docks and other nearby industrial buildings.
The southern terminus of U.S. 43 is in the background. Photo taken 10/25/03.
Westbound Traffic Street at Bay Bridge Road. U.S. 90 & U.S. 98
Truck travel between Interstate 10 Exit 27 and Interstate 165 Exit 2 along the four lane highway. The Cochrane
Bridge is approximately one mile to the east. Photo taken 10/25/03.
Scenes Related to U.S. 43
Views of the Black Warrior River bridge of U.S.
43/Alabama 69 as seen from the Jack Warner Parkway below. Paralleling nearby is a
steel truss bridge for a railroad line and associated wood trestle.
U.S. 43 and Alabama 69 end their overlap a short distance to the north at U.S. 82 in the town of Northport.
After a short overlap with U.S. 82, U.S. 43 continues northward towards Lake Tuscaloosa and eventually the
city of Florence. Photo taken 08/10/02.
A cantilever bridge spans the Tennessee River to the
west of Wilson Dam between the cities of Florence (pop. 32,264) and Muscle Schoals (pop. 11,924). The crossing
carries not only U.S. 43 and 72, but also Alabama state highways 13, 17, 20, and 157. Three of the state
highways depart the U.S. highway tandem at downtown Florence. This partition occurs a short distance to the north
of this bridge. Visible in the background is an abandoned railroad span and what appears to be remnant bridge
supports of some kind. A riverside park affords the views of the bridges depicted here. Photos taken 09/26/03.
