| Bankhead Tunnel | |
|---|---|
U.S. 98 entering Bankhead Tunnel traveling eastbound. |
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| Carries | 2 lanes of Route 98 |
| Crosses | Mobile River |
| Locale | Mobile, Alabama |
| Design | submerged tunnel |
| Total length | 3,389 feet (1033 m)[1] |
| Width | 34 feet (10.3 m) |
| Clearance below | 40 ft (12.2 m) |
| Opened | February 20, 1941[1] (built 1938-1942) |
| Toll | 1941 to mid-1970s[1] |
| Designated: | January 25, 1977 |
The Bankhead Tunnel is a tunnel in Mobile, Alabama that begins on Government Street in downtown Mobile, travels eastbound under the Mobile River, and emerges to join the Battleship Parkway.[1] [2] It is named for John Hollis Bankhead, an Alabama politician and U.S. Senator (served 1907-1920) who was also the grandfather of actress Tallulah Bankhead. It, like the larger George Wallace Tunnel (built 1969-1973) a few blocks downriver from it, was constructed in Mobile at the shipyards of the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO), from 1938-1940.[2] The eastern end of the Bankhead Tunnel features a large "flood door" that can be closed to prevent water from Mobile Bay flooding the tunnel during surges from hurricanes or tropical storms. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on January 25, 1977.
Contents |
The tunnel was built in sections and floated to the proper positions, then sunk. Each section was sunk next to the previous section and joined underwater. When all sections were connected, and concrete set into place, they were pumped dry and finished out. The depth of clearance is 40 ft (12.2 m) for the ship channel over the tunnel.[2] It was completed in 1940 at a cost of $4 million[1] and opened to the public on February 20, 1941.[1] A toll fee was charged at the east side, from 1941 to the mid-1970s,[1] when the toll plaza was dismantled. The tube carries two lanes of travel, and no pedestrian or non-motorized vehicular traffic is permitted.[1]
The tunnel was designed and construction directed by Wayne Palmer, himself of Mobile Alabama. Only passenger cars and pickup trucks are still allowed to travel through the tunnel, as it is very narrow. Large trucks and hazardous cargo are routed (on U.S. 90/Truck U.S. 98) over the Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge[1] miles to the north or the George Wallace Tunnel on Interstate 10 a few blocks to the south. The tunnel was a location for a scene in director Steven Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, largely filmed around the Mobile area: Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) drives through the tunnel as he chases UFOs. It is also featured in a motorcycle chase scene in a 1991 Brian Bosworth movie, Stone Cold.
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