Upgrades to Alabama 119 planned for later this year

Piggybacking on its intersection improvement plan for U.S. 280, the Alabama Department of Transportation introduced a proposal Feb. 28 for major changes to Cahaba Valley Road (Alabama 119) where it connects with the main thoroughfare.

According to ALDOT Preconstruction Engineer Lance Taylor, the Department is proposing to increase the width of highway on the north side between Brook Highland Drive and U.S. 280 from a two-lane road to a four-lane. A fifth drop lane would be added running south toward the 280 intersection.

This would increase the intersection to two left turn lanes from Cahaba Valley Road onto 280, and allow for two left turn lanes from 280 eastbound.

Across the intersection, an additional lane is proposed from Corporate Drive to the 280 intersection that would create an additional through lane at the intersection. A second left turn lane off U.S. 280 westbound is also proposed.

“We’re doing as much as we possibly can without driving the price up,” Taylor said, indicating 119 is a separate project from plans introduced in November 2012 for a reason.

In planning for the proposed improvements to 27 U.S. 280 intersections between Hollywood Blvd. and Doug Baker Blvd., ALDOT Director John Cooper instructed engineers to leave out intersections that would require the purchase of right-of-way property, Taylor said.

As currently proposed, the cost for conducting all 27 intersection improvements is $12 million-$15 million. Right of way property on the Alabama 119 project alone is expected to cost $8 million. Adding construction and utility relocation costs is projected to push the total price as high as $18.5 million.

Taylor indicated much of the feedback for the Alabama 119 proposal has been positive, aside from a handful of complaints about limiting access from Alabama 119 to the BP service station at the intersection to right in/out only.

ALDOT intends to bid the intersection improvements that do not require right of way purchase in April. Taylor said the Alabama 119 project would likely be bid as those projects wrapped up – likely in fall 2013.