Crosses Mobile River ID number 015430 Width 80 feet (24 m) Total length 2,222 m Clearance below 43 m Bridge type Cable-stayed bridge | Locale Mobile, Alabama Design Cable-stayed bridge Opened 1991 Height 107 m Location Mobile | |
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Carries 4 lanes of
US 90 / US 98 Truck Similar Bankhead Tunnel, George Wallace Tunnel, Bluff Dale Suspension Bridge, Lane Avenue Bridge, Pomeroy–Mason Bridge | ||
The Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge carrying US 90/US 98 Truck across the Mobile River from the mainland to Blakeley Island in Mobile, Alabama.
Contents
Map of Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge, Mobile, AL, USA
History
The Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge was completed and opened in 1991. It was named in honor of the 60-year-old vertical-lift Cochrane Bridge that it replaced, and the former community of Africatown, which once stood at the western approach to the bridge. Volkert and Associates, Inc. design for the bridge earned it the Outstanding Engineering Achievement in the U.S.A. Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Award of Excellence in Highway Design from the Federal Highway Administration, both in 1992. It was the first, and still the only, cable-stayed bridge in the state of Alabama. The bridge was damaged on August 29, 2005 when a 13,000 ton oil platform, the PSS Chemul, broke free from drydock and was wedged under the bridge by Hurricane Katrina. Surprisingly, the bridge remained in service and continued to carry two lanes of traffic after the storm.