 The western approach of the tunnel features a sharp curve which causes lengthy traffic backups in each direction depending on demand, and is part of the impetus to study a replacement for the tunnel.In the area where the George C. Wallace Tunnel passes beneath downtown Mobile, the re-filled area was later topped with a reconstruction of Fort Conde and several other new buildings, extending from the Mobile River for several blocks, along Water Street and Commerce Street.Because the tunnel tubes emerge within downtown Mobile, the riverbank along the Mobile River appears as an unbroken, continuous waterfront, with no other signs of the tunnels below.