Alabama Truck Bans & Hazmat Routes

Where Alabama keeps trucks out

No cars-only parkways here, but Mobile has two river tunnels that will stop you. The Bankhead Tunnel on Government Street runs 12 feet tall and 21 feet wide, passenger cars and pickups only, no big trucks. The I-10 George Wallace Tunnel takes trucks but bans placarded hazmat. Any hazmat crossing the Mobile River has to use the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge (signed US 90/98 Truck) to the north (49 CFR 397).

Key restrictions

• Bankhead Tunnel (Government St, Mobile): cars and pickups only, 12 ft high, 21 ft wide, no trucks.
• George Wallace Tunnel (I-10, Mobile): trucks OK but no placarded hazmat.
• Hazmat over the Mobile River must use the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge (signed US 90/98 Truck).
• No cars-only parkways statewide; obey Birmingham and Mobile posted truck routes.

• Parkway / road ban: No cars-only parkways. But Mobile's Bankhead Tunnel (Government St) is passenger cars and pickups only, and both Mobile River tunnels ban placarded hazmat.
• Hazmat: Mobile's I-10 George Wallace Tunnel and the Government Street Bankhead Tunnel both ban placarded hazmat. Any hazmat load crossing the Mobile River must use the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge, signed as US 90/98 Truck, a few miles north. The Bankhead Tunnel also bars all large trucks: 12 ft high, 21 ft wide, cars and pickups only.
• Through-truck routes: No statewide inside-perimeter truck ban. Birmingham and Mobile post local truck routes and 'no thru truck' streets by city ordinance. A through truck with no local stop stays on the designated route; a local delivery may leave it by the most direct path. STAA guarantees reasonable access to terminals, fuel, food, rest, and repairs.
• Fine: A hazmat routing or posted-restriction violation is a misdemeanor traffic offense (Ala. Code Title 32); the ticket is modest, but a placarded load caught off its required route also risks FMCSA/PHMSA civil penalties in the thousands. Strike the Bankhead Tunnel or a low bridge and you own the damage.

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