It was named in honor of the 60-year-old vertical-lift Cochrane Bridge (in turn named for president of the Mobile, Alabama Chamber of Commerce at the time, John T. Cochrane, Sr.) that it replaced, and the historic community of Africatown, which was located where the western approach to the bridge was built.

In 1997 community activists promoted preservation and designation of the Africatown Historic District to encourage development there.

The district was included on Mobile's African American Heritage Trail in 2009.

[4] Volkert and Associates, Inc. design for the bridge earned it the Outstanding Engineering Achievement in the U.S.A. Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Award of Excellence in Highway Design from the Federal Highway Administration, both in 1992.

[6] The bridge remained in service and continued to carry two lanes of traffic after the storm.