End of US highway 43

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Photo credits: Justin Cozart; Andrew Eisenberg; Brent Moore; Robert Mortell; Steven Nelson; Alex Nitzman
Additional research: Marc Fannin; Adam Froehlig

Approx. time period North terminus South terminus
1934-1939 Greenhill, AL Mobile, AL (Government)
1939-1970s(?) Columbia, TN (Main) Mobile, AL (Government)
1970s(?)-1980s(?) Columbia, TN (Garden) Mobile, AL (Government)
1980s(?)-2001 Columbia, TN (north) Mobile, AL (Government)
2001-present Columbia, TN (north) Mobile, AL (Bay Bridge)

US 43 was commissioned in 1934; at the time its north terminus was at the Tennessee stateline near Greenhill AL. A few years later, the north end of US 43 was extended to Columbia TN. Originally I suspect US 31 came into town from the south via Main Street, then crossed the river via the bridge that connects 5th Street and 1st Avenue, then followed Riverside Drive northward. Meanwhile, US 43 followed what is now TN hwy. 243 through downtown Mt. Pleasant (Main Street) and north to Columbia, where it becomes Trotwood Avenue. At 7th Street (now TN 99 and poorly-signed Business 412), traffic was routed east, and the US 43 designation ended where it met US 31 at Main, right at the courthouse square:

Moore, Feb. 2008

That's looking west on 7th: this was US 43's original north terminus - northbound US 31 was to the left on Main, and southbound to the right. There have been a lot of changes in town since then. At some point (I'm guessing the 1970s), US 31 was changed to follow its current routing, which bypasses Riverside, and it now follows Garden Street through downtown (instead of Main). So there was a brief period during which US 43 was still routed into downtown, but it ended at Garden. The photo below was taken looking west on 7th from Garden:

Nelson, July 2006

That's actually Business 412, and at one time that was the north beginning of US 43. At some point, modern US 43 was built along the opposite (north) side of the railroad between Mt. Pleasant and Columbia. This intersects 7th (actually the Hampshire Pike at that point) about four miles west of Trotwood, but US 43 was probably still signed east on Hampshire/7th to its endpoint at Garden.

Recently (perhaps the 1980s), the US 43 designation was moved off 7th, and instead traffic is now routed along the bypass that skirts the west and north side of the city (co-signed with US 412). US 43 still ends at its junction with US 31, but its modern terminus is about 2 miles north of its historic endpoints downtown. The photo below is looking east on the bypass - US 43 ends here...

Nelson, 2003

...but US 412 continues ahead another 7 miles or so, to its own terminus at I-65's interchange 46. To the right is not only southbound US 31 but also westbound Business 412 through downtown. Approaching this intersection from that direction, the beginning of US 43 is marked thus:

Eisenberg, Dec. 2009

That's from northbound US 31. The photo below shows the perspective from westbound US 412:

Mortell, Mar. 2010

US 43 begins at the traffic signal, and just beyond that is the first southbound marker:

Mortell, Mar. 2010

Originally the south terminus of US 43 was in downtown Mobile AL; you can view photos from there on this page. But in late 2001, Alex noticed that just about all of the US 43 signage downtown has been either removed or else says "TO US 43" now. He went looking for the new terminus, and found that the designation now ends a few miles to the north: on Telegraph Road at its connector to Bay Bridge Road, or US 90/Truck US 98 (this is actually within Prichard city limits). In this first photo, we're heading east on Bay Bridge:

Nitzman, 2002

There is no direct access to Telegraph, so US 43 traffic is now directed left onto a short connecting road. That curves around and connects with Telegraph (below):

Cozart/Nitzman, 2003

That sign was already gone as of 2006. Today US 43 begins to the left, but it used to continue southbound to the right. Telegraph no longer crosses the railyards that direction, and the road dead-ends near the state docks. If you go left there, you'll see the sign below:

Cozart/Nitzman, 2003

That's looking north on Telegraph, at the sign directing Bay Bridge traffic onto the connector. Just ahead is the first standalone marker:

Cozart/Nitzman, 2003

Heading the opposite direction, the photo below shows the southernmost stretch of US 43:

Nitzman, 2002

Part of Bay Bridge is visible in the background - the photo below was taken just before you pass underneath:

Cozart/Nitzman, Nov. 2006

When US 43 was initially truncated to this point, there was not an "End" sign, but AL DoT has since posted one.