ALDOT data shows reduced travel times on U.S. 280

The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) project on U.S. 280 has reduced travel times, and there is data to prove it.

From May to December 2013, the ambitious Intersection Improvement Plan altered 27 intersections on U.S. 280 from Hollywood Boulevard to Hugh Daniel Drive to improve travel times and relieve congestion.

ALDOT monitored travel times before and after the project using special Bluetooth devices at each intersection that tracked individual cell phones’ movement down the interstate. Division 3 Engineer Brian Davis said that no personal data was collected from the phones and that ALDOT did not have access to individual phone numbers or the ability to track the phones beyond those intersections.

“I don’t know where you’re coming from and I don’t know where you’re going, but I know how fast you’re going in the corridor,” Davis said.

Based on this data, ALDOT saw that during peak times, there has been a 29 percent reduction in inbound travel time and a 35 percent reduction in outbound travel time for 280 from Hollywood Boulevard to Interstate 459. For commuters traveling away from Birmingham, this would improve a 14-minute trip to just over nine minutes.

For the section of 280 from I-459 to Hugh Daniel Drive, inbound times improved by 23 percent and outbound times improved by 16 percent during peak hours. In this stretch of road, a driver heading toward Birmingham would reduce an 18-minute commute to just under 14 minutes.

Before the intersection updates, 280 also received new Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) traffic signals along the corridor. Davis said these signals also improved travel times, but data was not collected during that project.

Davis said the data collection on 280 will be an ongoing project so ALDOT can continue to monitor the effectiveness of the Intersection Improvement Plan.