Two Alabama bridges are among the longest in the United States, according to WorldAtlas, an online map resource and geographic information outlet.
According to WorldAtlas, the U.S. has an estimated 617,000 bridges, and most of them you might cross without as much of a second thought. Recently, the company ranked the 11 Longest Bridges in the U.S., and two of them are found in South Alabama, in the region’s massive Mobile-Tensaw Delta and the Gulf Coast drainage basin.
Coming in at the 6th longest is the Jubilee Parkway at 7.5 miles. It carries Interstate 10 for 7.5 miles across the north end of Mobile Bay as a pair of two-lane viaducts, linking Mobile with Spanish Fort and Daphne.
“Opened in 1978, it takes its name from the ‘jubilee,’ a local natural phenomenon in which low oxygen in the deep water drives crabs, shrimp, and flounder into the shallows, where residents scoop them up by hand,” says WorldAtlas.
Around the area, locals just call the bridge “The Bayway,” and have spent two decades arguing about widening it to escape the chronic backup at the George Wallace Tunnel on its western end.
I-10 Bridge Project Update
Interestingly, state and local leaders have proposed a new I-10 bridge and Bayway project, designed to ease congestion on the Jubilee Parkway. But, as recently as this past April, local leaders say they are running out of patience because, despite a federal grant secured two years ago, there is still no clear timeline. They argue that the longer the delay, the more expensive the project could become.
Since the initial announcement, projected costs have climbed from $2.7 billion to $3.5 billion. Much of that funding is expected to come from federal loans that will ultimately be repaid through tolls. In 2021, leaders approved a $2.50 one-way toll for drivers using an ALGO Pass. Earlier in the process, Alabama Trucking officials successfully led an effort to quash a proposal to toll only trucks.
Still, there is no official timeline for when construction on the I-10 bridge will begin, but officials worry that the longer this project is delayed, the more it could cost, and that could lead to higher tolls.
The Full List
Louisiana alone claims most of the top of the list, for the simple reason that there is barely any dry land left between Baton Rouge and the Gulf to build a normal road on. Ranked longest to shortest, here are the eleven longest bridges in the country.
11 Longest Bridges in the US
1
Lake Pontchartrain Causeway — The famous twin-span that stretches 24 miles across Lake Pontchartrain, one of the world’s longest bridges over water.
2
Manchac Swamp Bridge — A hauntingly beautiful elevated highway cutting through Louisiana bayou and cypress swamps.
3
Louisiana Airborne Memorial Bridge — Spans the Atchafalaya Basin, honoring Louisiana’s airborne soldiers.
4
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel — A remarkable 17-mile engineering feat combining bridges, tunnels, and artificial islands.
5
Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge — Carries I-10 over the New Orleans spillway system.
6
Louisiana Highway 1 Bridge — A sleek cable-stayed design serving the coastal communities of the Gulf.
7
Jubilee Parkway — Crosses Mobile Bay in Alabama with beautiful sunset views.
8
San Mateo-Hayward Bridge — One of the longest spans in the western U.S., crossing San Francisco Bay.
9
Seven Mile Bridge — An iconic Florida Keys landmark with turquoise water on both sides.
10
General W.K. Wilson Jr. Bridge — Also known as the “Dolly Parton Bridge” for its twin cable-stayed towers in Alabama.
11
Norfolk Southern Lake Pontchartrain Bridge — The railroad counterpart to the Causeway, a long rail bridge crossing the same lake.
