Airport Boulevard is one of the main

thoroughfare A thoroughfare is a primary passage or way of transport, whether by road on dry land or, by extension, via watercraft or aircraft. Originally, the word referred to a main road or open street which was frequented thoroughly. Different terms *Roa ...

s in

Mobile County, Alabama Mobile County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is the third-most populous county in the state after Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson and Madison County, Alabama, Ma ...

. It is an east–west highway between Mobile County at the

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

state line and the city of Mobile. In Mississippi, Airport Boulevard is known as Mississippi Highway 614. When it crosses the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

state line, its designation changes to Mobile County Highway 56 and its name changes to Airport Boulevard. In 2001,

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property, casualty and auto insurance provider in the United ...

identified the intersection of Airport Boulevard–University Boulevard as the most dangerous in the state of Alabama.

Location

Airport Boulevard is the most important east–west thoroughfare in the county which does not enter the downtown

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

. Airport Boulevard is a two-lane highway from the Mississippi state line until it intersects with Snow Road in the western part of the county where it becomes a five-lane highway. It becomes a divided four-lane highway near the

Mobile Regional Airport Mobile Regional Airport is a public/military airport west of Mobile, Alabama, Mobile, in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The airport is owned and operated by the Mobile Airport Authority, a self-funded entity that receives no local ta ...

, territory which was annexed into the city in January 2008. Its first major intersection in the city limits is with Schillinger Road, a four-lane highway which has become a major

shopping district A shopping street or shopping district is a designated road or quarter of a municipality that is composed of retail establishments (such as stores, boutiques, restaurants, and shopping complexes). Such areas may be pedestrian-oriented, with ...

over the years, which is what prompted the city to annex it around the same time as the airport. Airport continues as a four-lane highway until it reaches Cody Road (Mobile County Highway 37, the pre-2007 city limit in this area). Once it crosses Cody, Airport becomes a six-lane highway. Airport continues through Mobile, having major intersections at Hillcrest, University, McGregor/Azalea, Downtowner, Montlimar/Yester Oaks,

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway System, interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between th ...

, Bel Air, Sage and Florida. East of the

Florida Street Florida Street () is a popular shopping street in Buenos Aires CBD, Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pedestrian street since 1971, some stretches have been pedestrianized since 1913. The Walkability, pedestrian section as such starts at the i ...

intersection, Airport reverts to a four-lane highway until it reaches

Williams Street Williams Street Productions, LLC, formerly known as Ghost Planet Industries, is an American animation and live action television production studio owned by the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a unit of Warner Bros. ...

where it becomes a two-lane road (with a turn lane) before transitioning into a two-lane side street. The last two major intersections of Airport Boulevard are with Dauphin Island Parkway (for which Airport serves as the northern end) and the Government Street (U.S. Highway 90)/Houston Street intersection. Airport continues east of Government Street very briefly where it finally terminates at Old Government Street.

Overview

Airport Boulevard serves as both the heart of Mobile and a

geographic Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

boundary. West of the Government–Houston intersection, the city of Mobile considers Airport to be the dividing line between the north and south sides, determining how the city allocates

public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

, such as garbage pickup. Airport is a semi-controlled access

between Azalea and Sage; some turns which would hinder traffic are forbidden from Airport onto north–south intersecting roads, with the service roads being the required method of entry. Airport Boulevard serves as the north–south dividing line for Azalea Road and McGregor Boulevard. South of Airport the thoroughfare is a four-lane highway known as Azalea Road. North of Airport it is a two-lane neighborhood street known as McGregor Avenue, which traverses the upscale Spring Hill district. Airport also serves as the dividing line between Yester Oaks Drive, which becomes Montlimar south of the highway, and McGregor Drive. Montlimar is a wholly commercial thoroughfare, which is a four-lane highway with a turn lane. Yester Oaks is a residential street that passes through the Spring Hill district.

Businesses

Airport Boulevard is ringed with

service road A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. Where parallel high-speed roads are provided as part of a maj ...

s, primarily east of Azalea Road, which remain a prominent feature of the thoroughfare until it reaches Sage Avenue. Mobile's major malls are located on Airport and the area around Airport and 65 was the premier shopping region until the development of the Schillinger Road area and the shopping centers in Baldwin County. In the last decade, the malls have seen many major stores leave. Airport is also home to Providence Catholic Hospital, which moved to its Airport location from a Midtown location in 1986. Airport Boulevard has one educational facility, located outside of the Mobile city limits. That facility is Baker High School. Airport is also close to Corpus Christi Catholic School, which is located on McKenna Drive, which is a spur of Hillcrest roughly a half mile north of Airport and which can also be reached by Hillview Road, which is a spur of Airport.

Boundary line

Upon entering the city limits, Airport briefly serves as the north–south boundary line between

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

Districts 6 and 7 (with 6 to the south and 7 to the north). Furthermore, it is split evenly between City Council District 6 and City Council District 5. The boundary line is University Boulevard, with District 6 to the west and District 5 to the east. District 5 is currently represented by Reggie Copeland, the city council president, who has served on the council since 1985. District 6 is currently represented by Connie Hudson, who has served on the council since 2001. Major subdivisions and neighborhoods along Airport include Huntleigh Woods, Willowbrook, Pinehurst, Bit & Spur, Ridgefield, Regency (home to one of Mobile's two synagogues), Jackson Heights, Sunset Woods, Yester Oaks, Llanfair, and Delwood (a neighborhood of 1950s era mansions with very unusual architecture).

References

{{Mobile, Alabama Streets in Mobile, Alabama Transportation in Mobile County, Alabama