Hoover council approves up to $60,000 for Grants Mill Road realignment study

October 6, 2015 12:00 AM

Photo by Keith McCoy

The Hoover City Council on Monday night voted to partner with five other cities, Jefferson and Shelby counties and the Birmingham Water Works to pay for a study to find a way to realign Grants Mill Road and take traffic off U.S. 280.

Birmingham is paying the bulk of the cost for the study – up to $560,000, while Hoover, Irondale, Leeds, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, Jefferson County, Shelby County and the Birmingham Water Works each would pay $60,000, according to a cost-sharing agreement being considered by each entity.

The goal of the study is to look at alternate routes for Grants Mill Road between Alabama 119 and Interstate 459 and pick a preferred route to pull some traffic off the often congested U.S. 280.

The current Grants Mill Road is a narrow two-lane road about six miles east of U.S. 280 that winds from Alabama 119 to Interstate 20 and U.S. 78 in Irondale.

Officials from numerous governments want to look at multiple alternate corridors, each about 1,000 feet wide, and find the most suitable one that can move traffic at 55 mph.

Birmingham would assume responsibility for management of the study.

Hoover Councilman John Lyda on Monday night applauded Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey for bringing the project to the council. He said this is probably the first time in his lifetime he has seen so much regional cooperation by so many municipalities and governmental entities.