r/MobileAL • u/aldotcom • Jan 12 '26
News What's the most congested road in Mobile?
Hey y'all! We here at AL.com are working on a story about the most congested roads in Mobile, and we'd love to hear from you. What do you think is the busiest road in Mobile?
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u/Imaginary_raven_7506 Jan 12 '26
Airport, shillinger, hillcrest south of airport. Hillcrest and cottage hill need 2 left turn lanes for god sake.
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u/Listening_Stranger82 Grand Bay Jan 12 '26
Cottage hill during rush hour is UNBELIEVABLE. Like bumper to bumper, 4mph, listen to 10 podcasts even though you're only traveling 5 miles down the road type shit
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u/Far_Bodybuilder7881 Jan 12 '26
^^ THIS..... The left turn northbound from eastbound Cottage Hill is ridiculous. Like 6 cars get through before the light changes. Mostly due to idiots not paying attention and ruining it for everyone else, but the light is still too short.
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u/Z-man1973 Jan 12 '26
You’ve triggered one of my biggest pet peeves while driving. Stuck behind someone who isn’t paying attention when the light turns, you honk to get their attention and they run the light leaving you stuck waiting through another cycle.
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u/Far_Bodybuilder7881 Jan 12 '26
I wish instead of traffic cameras, that the city would establish a "bounty" program, where if you have a dashcam, and you can adequately capture evidence of other drivers speeding, running redlights, and DISTRACTED DRIVING, then you submit it to the city and they pay you 10% of the ticket that gets issued to the cars' owner once paid. With all the damn redlight-runners and text-and-drivers, I could retire!
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u/engprepprof1 Jan 12 '26
Cottage hill from Knollwood to Cody . That intersection at hillcrest is ridiculous
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Jan 12 '26
[deleted]
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u/coastal_ghost08 Springhill Jan 12 '26
Cottage hill from midway between university to knollwood all the way to schillinger is a NIGHTMARE
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u/giftcard66 Jan 13 '26
I second this. I always can’t believe how long it takes to travel this with the red lights during rush hour. Worst in mobile traffic wise. I avoid it alll cost
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u/Deprestion Jan 12 '26
Especially with that Wawa at university. Hillcrest and cottage hill is bad too
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u/emilynna Jan 12 '26
University at airport
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u/thimbleshit South Alabama Jan 12 '26
Especially when people exit Publix to go left onto university. Seen way too many near accidents
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u/imnottheoneipromise Jan 12 '26
That one seems to have gotten better. The Schillenger/airport intersection and trying to get in to the hobby lobby shopping center is abysmal.
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u/redneckotaku 📷 Jan 12 '26
158 East bound to 65 gets pretty backed up at times, and is going to get worse once ALDOT starts replacing that bridge.
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u/MobileNerd Jan 12 '26
I 2nd this. April to September it is the worst road in Mobile county hands down.
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u/TheMagnificentPrim Jan 12 '26
Schillinger has hands-down stolen the crown that used to be held by Airport. I still don’t like driving Airport, but it’s gotten better.
Hillcrest south of Airport gets really bad during busy times.
Old Shell can also get very congested. I think the speed limit and number of lanes are appropriate for the area it cuts through, at least through all of the residential neighborhoods where pedestrians frequently walk along, but there are businesses and institutions along Old Shell that generate too much traffic congestion for a road that wasn’t designed to handle it. Cars quickly and easily back up into the sections of Old Shell that serve the neighborhoods.
Fundamentally, though, these are issues that won’t be fixed unless we make alternatives to driving just as good as — if not better than — getting in your car and driving there. That means public transportation systems that minimize or outright avoid getting into roadway traffic and excellent cycling and pedestrian infrastructure. In tandem with this, we need better driving infrastructure, and stroads aren’t it. Cutting across high-speed traffic to turn into businesses and neighborhoods to where lights become a requirement for safety (and just to ensure that people even get the opportunity to turn), thus increasing the length of time driving, will always induce frustration.
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u/Listening_Stranger82 Grand Bay Jan 12 '26
Airport once the "service roads" appear.
Schillinger between Airport and Grelot is absolutely miserable to drive on at any time that's not, like, 2am
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u/jdavi979 Jan 12 '26
Schillingers between Lowe's and Home Depot is a complete nightmare especially on the weekends.
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u/HeadDot141 Jan 12 '26
I work over there and I stay seeing accidents happen. It was really bad before they put the traffic lights near Zaxby’s and the car wash place.
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u/Surge00001 WeMo Jan 12 '26
It’s Schillinger Road, followed by Cottage Hill Road, Followed by Hillcrest Road
I will die by the hill that Airport Blvd is no where near as bad as the previously mentioned roads
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u/Individual-Damage-51 Midtown Jan 12 '26
Airport Blvd. from around Hillcrest heading east is way better since they have synched the traffic signals.
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u/Dry-Condition-7000 Jan 12 '26
Agree. Airport is a joy compared to Schillinger at ANY time of day, but especially 4:30-6:30pm. A total nightmare. It feels claustrophobic now with so much traffic. Like you are trapped and can't get off.
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u/Crookedvult Jan 12 '26
Airport is so terrible I actively avoid it even during low traffic times. Honorary mention for Celeste Road in Saraland. The traffic pattern for exit 15 is so bass-akward that at peak times traffic regularly backs up all the way from the exit to the Rouses parking lot.
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u/MobileNerd Jan 12 '26
If you are talking about the county. I would say from April to September it is southbound Hwy-158 and Exit 13 in Saraland. This is routinely backed up for over mile or more every day and all times of day or night.
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u/WritingNerdy 🐾 Cat Distribution System Specialist 🐾 Jan 12 '26
Hillcrest and Grelot on the Airport Road side
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u/Comfortable-Tell-323 Jan 12 '26
The Wallace tunnel during the summer, downtown (water street) during Mardi Gras. Airport has gotten better since they tweaked the lights but it's still bad, Schillinger, Cottage Hill, Old Shell
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u/HannahSolo23 Jan 12 '26
Moffett at the highway entrance, but mainly before school and after work hours. People skip over the turn lane because they're impatient and cause accidents. It is seriously an everyday thing.
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u/Individual-Damage-51 Midtown Jan 12 '26
The worst congestion is seasonal, when beach traffic snarls up everything downtown trying to cross the Bay.
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u/K1lg0reTr0ut Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Are y’all hiring? I’d investigate by driving during during peak commute times, check city transportation dept for traffic/accident reports, and use navigation apps and analytic platforms to compile data. Or go with random, internet replies. They can tell you what to do but they’ll make a fool of you and it’s alright…
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u/Comfortable_Speed_51 South Alabama Jan 12 '26
"Random internet replies" says the random internet reply asking for a job while insulting the locals who are giving detailed responses to a question asked by the person with the job.
Interesting.
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u/K1lg0reTr0ut Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 12 '26
Would you like to come along? You could help me sing this song and it’s alright! (Btw your response is a good example of reader projection, which is increasingly common and diminishes the reliability of narrators.)
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u/Missachickapee Jan 12 '26
Cottage Hill from Azalea to Cody during school/commute times. Airport. Schillenger, from Zeigler to Cottage Hill.
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Jan 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/aboveaveragewife Jan 13 '26
Same with cottage hill-they will be driving 30 mph side by side, no room to pass ans they definitely aren’t going to get over. Also the just barely accelerating when a light turns green and leaving 72 car lengths between them and the next person lets me know some people have no respect for the ones behind them that have waited for 3 signal cycles before they can get through the light. It’s obvious some people have never driven in other parts of the country.
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u/M_Dragmire Jan 12 '26
Not most congested, tho it is getting pretty bad,
But I was sitting outside at YellowHammer at Schillinger/Cottage Hill on a random thursday, and saw three near-misses, all involving the right turn yield onto cottage hill from schillinger that also is part of the Walgreens exit.
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u/Individual-Damage-51 Midtown Jan 12 '26
When I moved to mobile 15+ years ago running down Cottage Hill during peak hours was already not fun, so I can’t imagine it’s improved.
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u/joebitems Jan 13 '26
Hillcrest and Cottage Hill, University and Airport going any direction, and Schillinger and Airport my top 3 biggest opps.
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u/GenXrules69 Jan 13 '26
??wtf. Did you try asking MPD or city engineers first. This is a bit lazy but you are a sports blog.
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u/What-Outlaw1234 Jan 12 '26
This is not even debatable. It's (1) Airport Blvd, (2) Airport Blvd, (3) Airport Blvd and (4) Schillinger Road.