Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge

|bridge_name= Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge

|image= Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge May 2012.jpg

|caption= Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge in Mobile, Alabama

|carries= 4 lanes of
{{jct|state=AL|US|90|US-Truck|98|dab2=Mobile}}

|crosses= Mobile River

|locale= Mobile, Alabama

|maint=

|id= 015430

|design= Cable-stayed bridge

|mainspan= {{convert|781|ft|m|0}}

|length= {{convert|7291|ft|m|0}}

|width= {{convert|80|ft|m|0}}

|clearance=

|below={{convert|140|ft|m|0}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/nsd/searchbychart.php?chart=11376 |title=U.S. Coast Pilot Search |work=Office of Coast Survey |publisher=NOAA |accessdate=October 23, 2012}}

|traffic=10,800 (2009)

|cost=$68.9 million

|open= 1991

|closed=

|toll=no

|coordinates= {{coord|30|44|00|N|88|02|34|W|region:US_type:landmark}}

}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://aehof.eng.ua.edu/members/cochraneafricatown-usa-bridge/ |title=Cochrane/Africatown USA Bridge |work=State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame |publisher=University of Alabama, et al. |accessdate=October 23, 2012}}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.mobilehd.org/aaht_historic.html |title=African American Heritage Trails |work=Mobile Historic Development Commission |publisher=City of Mobile |accessdate=April 20, 2010| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20100603182223/http://www.mobilehd.org/aaht_historic.html| archivedate= June 3, 2010 | url-status= live}} In 2012 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/upload/weekly-list-2012-national-register-of-historic-places.pdf |title=Weekly List of Actions Taken On Properties: 12/03/12 Through 12/07/12 |work=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=January 6, 2013 }}

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.{{cite web | title =Cochrane/Africatown USA Bridge over the Mobile River, Mobile, Alabama | work =Volkert & Associates, Inc. | url =http://www.volkert.com/Awards/Cochrane%20Bridge%202.htm | accessdate =September 28, 2008 | url-status =dead | archiveurl =https://web.archive.org/web/20070710064956/http://www.volkert.com/Awards/Cochrane%20Bridge%202.htm | archivedate =July 10, 2007 }}

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.{{cite book|title=Hurricane Katrina: Performance of Transportation Systems|year=2007|publisher=ASCE, TCLEE|location=Reston, VA|isbn=9780784408797|url=http://www.asce.org/Product.aspx?id=2147486137&productid=5470|editor=Reginald DesRoches, PhD|access-date=July 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303172813/http://www.asce.org/Product.aspx?id=2147486137&productid=5470|archive-date=March 3, 2014|url-status=dead}} The bridge remained in service and continued to carry two lanes of traffic after the storm.