| US 98 | |
| Get started | Wilmer |
| End | Lillian |
| Length | 80 mi |
| Length | 129 km |
According to CITYPOPULATIONREVIEW.COM, US 98 is a US Highway in the US state of Alabama. The road forms an east-west route in the south of the state, between the states of Mississippi and Florida, through the larger city of Mobile. The route is 129 kilometers long.
Travel directions
US 90/98 in Mobile.
Northwest of the village of Wilmer, the road enters the state from Mississippi. US 98 in Mississippi comes from Hattiesburg. The road runs through wooded and flat area. It doesn’t take long before the first small residential areas appear along the road. The road soon has 4 lanes and passes through an increasingly urban area. One then crosses the Interstate 65, which starts a little more south and towards the capital Montgomery and Birminghamruns. US 98 then forms a light commercial strip in the west of Mobile, a city of 199,000 inhabitants and 400,000 in the metropolitan area. The road runs through residential areas with many trees, and gives a rural appearance. Sometimes there are some small businesses along the way. US 45 begins just west of downtown, which leads to Tuscaloosa and Florence in the north of the state. The road then widens to 6 lanes and runs slightly south, before continuing east through the south of the center. The road then enters a tunnel, the Bankhead tunnel under the River Mobile. The road then crosses Interstate 10, after which both roads and also US 90walk east over series of bridges over Mobile Bay. Along the way is a historic center with the warship USS Alabama. One then crosses the I-10, with a connection above the water. At Spanish Fort, US 98 rejoins the mainland and turns south. US 90 goes straight to Pensacola. The US 98 does that too, but via a more southerly route, as it should be in the numbering system.
US 98 then runs 2×2 lanes south and intersects I-10 for the final time. The road passes through the villages of Daphne and Fairhope, along Mobile Bay to the south. The road then narrows to 2×1 lanes and turns east, 15 to 20 kilometers away from the Gulf of Mexico. You pass through Foley after which the road past Lillian crosses the Lillian Bridge, over the Perdido Bay, also the border with Florida. The US 98 in Florida then continues towards the city of Pensacola.
History
US 98 was added to the US Highways network in 1933, but at the time only passed through Florida. In 1955 the western terminus was changed from Pensacola, Florida to Natchez, Mississippi, bringing US 98 through Alabama.
US 98 has been partially upgraded to a 2×2 divided highway. As early as the late 1960s, US 98 began widening from Spanish Fort south along Mobile Bay to 2×2 lanes. This ended at Point Clear.
In 2008, the construction of a section of 2×2 divided highway west of Mobile, on a completely new route, started. However, this was never phased out. Between 2006 and 2010, a new 2×2 stretch was constructed north of Mobile, connecting to I-65. This is numbered State Route 158 but was intended to be part of US 98, which would then be rerouted outside the city of Mobile.
Bankhead Tunnel
The Bankhead Tunnel is located in the city of Mobile and passes under the river of the same name. The tunnel is named after John Hollis Bankhead, an Alabama political leader and Senator from 1907 to 1920. The tunnel was constructed in 1938, and opened on February 20, 1941. In 1973, a parallel tunnel to Interstate 10 opened. The Bankhead Tunnel can be completely closed if the Mobile Bay threatens to flood during hurricanes. The tunnel is constructed via submerged elements that are attached to each other under water. It was a toll tunnel from 1941 to the 1970s. The tunnel has a total of 2 lanes.
Traffic intensities
The road is fairly thorough and counts about 10,000 vehicles per day from the Mississippi border, increasing to 36,000 at I-65. In Mobile itself, about 20,000 vehicles drive and 15,000 vehicles cross Mobile Bay parallel to I-10 every day. The busiest point is at Spanish Fort with 42,000 vehicles, which is because the road is both a commuter and recreational route to the coast. Further south there are about 6,000 left. 12,100 vehicles cross the Florida border every day.
Bankhead Tunnel
| Bankhead Tunnel | |
| Crosses | Mobile River |
| Length | 1,033 meters |
| Opening | 20-02-1941 |
| Intensity | 22,000 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
According to ASK4BEAUTY, the Bankhead Tunnel is a tunnel in the United States, located in Mobile, Alabama. The tunnel passes under the Mobile River and is part of US 98.
Characteristics
The Bankhead Tunnel is a single-tube road tunnel of 1,033 meters in length. Located just north of the George Wallace Tunnel, the tunnel handles local traffic between Downtown Mobile and industry on the east bank of the Mobile River. The tunnel is part of US 98 in Alabama and is toll-free.
History
The tunnel was constructed between 1938 and 1942 and opened to traffic on February 20, 1941 before completion. The tunnel is an immersion tunnel, one of the older immersion tunnels for vehicular traffic in the United States. The tunnel was built in Art Deco style. The tunnel is named after John H. Bankhead (1842-1920) an Alabama senator. He was instrumental in the creation of the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916, which first provided federal aid for the development of the U.S. road network.
In 1973, the Bankhead Tunnel was relieved with the opening of Interstate 10 ‘s adjacent George Wallace Tunnel.
Traffic intensities
Every day about 22,000 vehicles drive through the tunnel, which is therefore fairly busy.
