Cochrane–Africatown USA 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.^[2]

Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge
Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge in Mobile, Alabama
Coordinates	30°44′00″N 88°02′34″W
Carries	4 lanes of US 90 / US 98 Truck
Crosses	Mobile River
Locale	Mobile, Alabama
ID number	015430
Characteristics
Design	Cable-stayed bridge
Total length	7,291 feet (2,222 m)
Width	80 feet (24 m)
Longest span	781 feet (238 m)
Clearance below	140 feet (43 m)[1]
History
Construction cost	$68.9 million
Opened	1991
Statistics
Daily traffic	10,800 (2009)
Toll	no
Location

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 (in turn named for president of the Mobile, Alabama Chamber of Commerce at the time, John T. Cochrane, Sr.) that it replaced, and the historic community of Africatown, which was located where the western approach to the bridge was built. In 1997 community activists promoted preservation and designation of the Africatown Historic District to encourage development there. The district was included on Mobile's African American Heritage Trail in 2009.^[3] In 2012 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.^[4]

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.^[5]

This was the first, and is still the only, cable-stayed bridge in the state of Alabama. The bridge was damaged on August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina broke a 13,000-ton semi-submersible platform, the PSS Chemul, free from drydock and wedged it under the bridge.^[6] The bridge remained in service and continued to carry two lanes of traffic after the storm.^[6]

References

1. "U.S. Coast Pilot Search". Office of Coast Survey. NOAA. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
2. "Cochrane/Africatown USA Bridge". State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. University of Alabama, et al. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
3. "African American Heritage Trails". Mobile Historic Development Commission. City of Mobile. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
4. "Weekly List of Actions Taken On Properties: 12/03/12 Through 12/07/12". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
5. "Cochrane/Africatown USA Bridge over the Mobile River, Mobile, Alabama". Volkert & Associates, Inc. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
6. Reginald DesRoches, PhD, ed. (2007). Hurricane Katrina: Performance of Transportation Systems. Reston, VA: ASCE, TCLEE. ISBN 9780784408797. Archived from the original on March 3, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2012.