Bankhead Tunnel tube

Construction of the Bankhead Tunnel began in 1938. It was named for John Hollis Bankhead, an Alabama native and speaker of the House of Representatives, who was also the grandfather of Tallulah Bankhead. Built at a cost of $4 million (or more than $65 million today), it cut 7 1/2 miles off the time needed to cross from Mobile to the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. The tunnel opened February 20, 1941. On that first day, and for the only time in its history, bicycles and pedestrians were allowed to travel through the tunnel. Legend has it that nearly 75,000 people took advantage of opportunity and were led by then-mayor Cecil F. Bates. The Bankhead Tunnel was designed by and constructed by Wayne Palmer. To help pay for the tunnel, a toll of 25 cents per car was charged from the structure's opening until 1973, when the George Wallace Tunnel was completed. This 25 cents toll was much cheaper than the $1.00 per car charged to cross the old Cochrane Bridge or the $3.10 per vehicle toll charged by the old steamboats.

The Bankhead Tunnel consists of seven sections (two sections of 255 feet each and five sections of 298 feet each). Its tubes were constructed by the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company. When completed, the tubes were floated down river and sunk into place. At the time it opened, the Bankhead Tunnel was an engineering marvel. Its completion made news around the country. Since its opening, millions of cars have traversed its 3,389 feet. Today, because it is so narrow, only passenger cars and light trucks are allowed through it. Heavier vehicles must either use the Wallace Tunnel or travel around the city using the Cochrane-Africatown bridge.

The images below come from a collection of 137 black and white slides that document construction of the tunnel.

	Construction of one of the tubes that make up the Bankhead Tunnel.
	As this image shows, the Bankhead Tunnel was a Progress Works Administration project.
	A group of men gathered around plans for what was initially known as the "Mobile Vehicular Tunnel."
	The Bankhead Tunnel begins a block away from Royal Street. It crosses under the Mobile River and exits onto Blakeley Island.
	A schematic of the tunnel and the areas of the city that it sits above.
	The western entrance of the tunnel, about 1940.
	A view of tunnel construction. The camera is facing northeast. Today the location houses the Renaissance Riverview Hotel.
	Men working inside the tunnel.
	The eastern entrance to the tunnel. One of the toll booths can be seen in the foreground.
	Two policemen standing inside the finished tunnel. In spite of its narrowness, large truck still try to cross through the tunnel. It must be closed several times a year to clear big rigs that get stuck inside.
	Workers constructing the eastern entrance to the tunnel.
	An unidentified man addresses a group of people. It is unclear whether this may have been a celebration of the groundbreaking for the tunnel or not.
	Tunnel construction.
	Floating one of the seven tubes into place.