| U.S. 98 westbound departs Battleship Parkway to the Bankhead Tunnel and downtown Mobile. The white sign in the median indicates the truck and hazmat restrictions for the two-lane tube. U.S. 90 westbound continues northward with Truck U.S. 98 along Bay Bridge Road to the Cochrane
Bridge. The Exit 27 westbound off-ramp of Interstate 10 enters from the left. Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| U.S. 90 & Truck U.S. 98 West - Bay Bridge Road & Cochrane Bridge
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| An overall panoramic of the Africatown-Cochrane Bridge viewed from the south via U.S. 90 & 98 Truck westbound. The land to the northeast of the bridge on Blakeley Island is vastly untouched as the terrain is barely above sea level. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| The Alabama State Docks sprawl along both banks of the Mobile River. The Blakeley Island terminal resides just to the south of the westbound approach to the bridge. Truck control to the state docks main elements are advised to continue across the bridge to Telegraph Road southbound. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| The bridge over the Mobile River of U.S. 90 & Truck U.S. 98 is officially named the Africatown-Cochrane Bridge. Mobilians however, refer to the bridge as simply the "Cochrane Bridge". This bridge and its predecessor at one point also carried U.S. 31 into Mobile. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| Northbound along Bay Bridge Road at the east base of the
Africatown-Cochrane Bridge. Southward U.S. 90/Truck U.S. 98 are undivided with a 50 mph speed limit.
The highways are flanked with more industrial facilities on the narrow strip of land between the road and
river. To the east wetlands and an Alabama Birdwatching Trail location are present. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| Ascending on the Africatown-Cochrane Bridge along westbound
U.S. 90/Truck U.S. 98. This roadway carries a significant amount of truck traffic, however overall traffic counts
are still relatively low. Seen in the background are paper mills and other industrial facilities located via
Paper Mill Road (intersected with U.S. 90/Truck U.S. 98 at the western base of the bridge). In 2000,
International Paper closed their paper mill within this particular complex. The plant shutdown caused 1600
employees to be out of work. To this day, the plant remains closed. Photos taken 08/21/03.
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| Three westbound photographs showing the cable-stayed
Africatown-Cochrane Bridge pier supports. Unlike the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, James River Bridge, and
Sunshine Skyway Bridge, this cable-stayed span utilizes "H" pier supports instead of the single median piers
used for those marvelous spans. Note that the bridge carries four lanes of travel with a 45 mph speed limit
and full shoulders. A concrete date stamp to the right displays 1991. The construction barrels are in place
for a cable repainting project. Photos taken 08/21/03.
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| From the middle of the Africatown-Cochrane Bridge is this
view southward of the Alabama State Docks with the Mobile skyline as a backdrop. A CSX railroad straddles the
western banks of the Mobile River as it descends toward the state docks. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| This bank of shields is situated at the base of the Telegraph Road overpass of
Bay Bridge Road. The shield assembly features the first mentioning of the nearby southern terminus of U.S. 43.
The grassy area behind the signs themselves constitutes the original roadway grading of the two lane Bay Bridge
Road built before Interstate 165 came into existance. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| U.S. 90 & 98 Truck descend from the Telegraph Road overcrossing
to the intersection with Traffic Street. The name of Traffic Street stems from the pre-Interstate 165/Bay Bridge
Road relocation project. The roadway itself was altered to act as a connector between U.S. 43/Telegraph Road
to U.S. 90-U.S. 98 Truck/Bay Bridge Road. U.S. 43 used to continue southward into downtown but was truncated
in 2001 to the nearby intersection. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| The terminus of U.S. 43 and Traffic Street now behind, U.S. 90 & Truck U.S. 98
westbound approach Grover Street, the last traffic light before reaching the Interstate 165 frontage roads
and viaduct. Photo taken 10/25/03.
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| Focusing on the shield assembly depicted in the above photograph.
Detour Interstate 10 shields continue westbound to Interstate 165, and from there southward to Water Street
and a return to Interstate 10. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| Approaching Interstate 165 along U.S. 90 & 98 Truck. Two left-hand
turn lanes are provided for downtown based traffic interests and the U.S. 90 mainline. Entering from the left
is the U.S. 90 & 98 Truck eastbound ramp departure of Interstate 165 north (Exit 2). Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| This cache of shields features one example of each of the
three Mobile Interstates with the state name. Interstate 165 facilitates commuter traffic to/from downtown
to Interstate 65 and the northern suburbs of Chickasaw, Saraland, and Satsuma. The freeway opened to traffic
October 28, 1994 and replaced U.S. 43 as the main north-south route out of the central business district to
Interstate 65. Photo taken 10/25/03.
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| Just to the north of the shield assembly depicted above is the
Interstate 165 northbound on-ramp. Signs touting Interstate 165 as part of Truck U.S. 98 were installed in late
2001 as an alternative to taking Interstate 10 to Interstate 65 through the heart of Mobile. This routing however,
is not actually part of the Truck U.S. 98 official path. Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| - Interstate 165 Overlap -
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| U.S. 90 & U.S. 98 Truck West - Beauregard Street
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| At the southern terminus of Interstate 165, U.S. 90 & Truck U.S.
98 turn westbound onto the divided six-lane Beauregard Street. This shield assembly is posted just west of the
Water Street/Interstate 165 intersection adjacent to the Jackson Street public housing projects.
Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| This shield assembly displayed in the above photobox once
included a U.S. 43 shield and reflected U.S. 90 & 98 in trailblazer form. By January of 2002, the shield assembly
was altered to reflect the truncation of U.S. 43 and realignment of U.S. 90. Photo taken 06/01.
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| Pressing westbound on Beauregard Street through the Jackson
Street traffic light. A second reassurance shield assembly for U.S. 90 & Truck U.S. 98 is posted. Note the
treescaped appeal to this portion of Beauregard Street. Beauregard Street continues southward as Broad Street.
The two routes in conjunction with Water Street and Canal Street form the Henry Aaron Loop of
downtown. Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| A look at the shield assembly of Beauregard and Jackson
Streets before the removal of U.S. 43 and Truck U.S. 90. Note that ALDOT retained the U.S. 90 & Truck U.S. 98
shields for the replacement assembly. Photo taken 06/01.
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| A third and final set of U.S. 90 & Truck U.S. 98 reassurance shields
is posted at the intersection of Beauregard Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard. Ahead is the
main campus of Bishop State Community College and the transition into Broad Street. Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| U.S. 90 & 98 Truck westbound enter Broad Street south of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and travel two blocks to the intersection of Saint Anthony Street. Here
U.S. 98 westbound departs Broad Street via Spring Hill Avenue by way of one block of Saint Anthony. U.S. 98
Truck draws to a close at this intersection. The "Downtown via Saint Louis Street" button copy sign is original
and directs motorists to turn right and U-turn onto Spring Hill Avenue eastbound as no left-turns are
permitted at the next intersection. Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| An artistic view of the U.S. 45-90-98 shield assembly at Broad
and Saint Anthony Streets. U.S. 45 does not travel here nor does it begin here. The federal highway however,
commences approximately one half mile to the east at the intersection of Spring Hill Avenue and Saint Stephens
Road. Southward along Broad Street, U.S. 90 westbound merges with U.S. 98 eastbound for a three block overlap.
Photo taken 08/21/03.
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| U.S. 90 West & U.S. 98 East - Broad Street
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| At the intersection with Old Shell Road, U.S. 90 west & U.S. 90
eastbound see this sign bridge for the hazardous materials restriction of the U.S. 98 Bankhead Tunnel. The ban
forces any eastbound traffic carrying prohibited materials northward to the Cochrane Bridge. Old Shell Road
begins to the right. This surface arterial begins quietly but increases in importance as it travels west
serving Spring Hill College and the University of South Alabama. Photo taken 10/31/03.
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| Broad Street passes through the eastbound only Dauphin Street
and approaches Government Street. Dauphin Street enters the Lower Dauphin Entertainment District to the east.
U.S. 98 eastbound parallels Dauphin Street along Government Street through the central business district.
Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| U.S. 90 westbound and U.S. 98 eastbound part ways at the Broad
Street intersection with Government Street. U.S. 98 travels a half mile to the two-lane Bankhead Tunnel. The
surface boulevard is home to the Mobile Government Plaza. Westbound U.S. 90 continues Government Street
toward Midtown Mobile. Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| The intersection of Broad and Government. Traffic continuing
straight will enter working class neighborhoods of south Mobile. The surface street eventually intersects
Interstate 10 at Exit 25B. The light post to the right once held an End U.S. 43 shield. The brackets that once
proclaimed the highway terminus now support an anti-littering sign. Photo taken 10/31/03.
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| The former Southern terminus of U.S. 43, complete with the removed
end shield. Upon the relocation of U.S. 90 on Broad Street/Beauregard Street, Interstate 165, and Bay Bridge
Road (former Truck U.S. 90 routing), U.S. 43 was truncated to the Telegraph/Bay Bridge Road intersection in
Prichard. This coincided with the 2002 demolition of the U.S. 43 Telegraph Road Viaduct Bridge through the
State Docks. Photo taken 10/26/99.
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| Even with the U.S. 90 related sign installation along
the Interstate 165 Exit 2 ramps 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 1999
photograph were switched from a vertical to horizontal orientation.
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| 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. Those two highways were truncated
to their current termini during the early 1990s. Since both overlapped in their entirely from this location
to their current beginnings, it was thought to remove the overlaps. Photo taken 10/26/99.
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| U.S. 90 West - Government Boulevard
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| Westbound at the confluence of Dauphin Island Parkway,
Williams Street southbound, Holcombe Avenue westbound, and the Norfolk Southern Railroad on Government
Street. This intersection represents the northern terminus of Alabama 163. Photo taken 11/13/03.
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| The northbound on-ramp to Interstate 65 was relocated slightly to smooth out a sharp curve on the original ramp. The process results in a new departure point from U.S. 90 (Government Boulevard) westbound and associated overhead assembly. Construction to relocate the ramp was completed by February of 2004. Photo taken 05/04/04. |
| U.S. 90 westbound at junction Interstate 65. Construction is
now complete involving the reconfiguration of the Interstate 65 interchange from a full cloverleaf to a
six-ramp partial cloverleaf interchange. Two new traffic signals now guide Interstate 65 motorists onto
Government Boulevard within the Exit 1 interchange (see next photos). The cloverleaf ramps from Interstate 65 to U.S. 90 closed on February 8, 2004. Photo taken 11/03/03.
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| The relocation of the northbound on-ramp results in the removal of the Interstate 65 northbound guide sign from U.S. 90 westbound. Note the fourth westbound lane beginning ahead for Interstate 65 southbound and Interstate 10. Grass now takes the place of the former cloverleaf ramps. Photo taken 05/04/04. |
| Six lanes now continue through the Interstate 65 partial-cloverleaf interchange. Pictured here is the end of the northbound off-ramp and associated traffic signal on U.S. 90 (Government Boulevard) westbound. Photo taken 05/04/04. |
| Southbound traffic from Interstate 65 merges onto U.S. 90 at a second traffic light to the west of the Interstate 65 overpasses. Mast arm signals reside at the right-hand turns from the respective freeway off-ramps to U.S. 90 (Government Boulevard). Photo taken 05/04/04. |
Page Updated July 6, 2004.
