Work continues on widening 119

With a new Chick-fil-A and medical centers being established by Brookwood and St. Vincent’s One Nineteen, traffic at the already-packed U.S. 280/Highway 119 intersection could get a lot heavier this year. ALDOT is meeting this increase in commuters with additional lanes on both major roadways.

The $6.2 million project began in March 2014 and is currently slated for completion in June 2015, according to ALDOT Division 3 Shelby County district manager Todd Connell. New north and southbound lanes will be added to 119 on both sides of the intersection and two turn lanes will be created for drivers in the northbound lanes of 119 to head west on 280. An extra turn lane will also be added to the existing one for southbound drivers to turn east onto 280. Connell said left turn lanes will also be added onto 280 for drivers from either direction to access 119.

“It should definitely help as far as movement through the intersection,” Connell said.

Existing utilities nearly caused construction delays in mid-December, as the Birmingham Water Works Board disagreed over accepting a bid by Russo Corporation to move water pipes in the way of the widening project. The problem was resolved and the pipes were removed on schedule.

The Brookwood freestanding emergency department and Chick-fil-A will both be opening prior to completion of the project. Construction may cause traffic delays, but Chick-fil-A construction manager Justin Bloecher and Brookwood Vice President of External Affairs Stephen Preston both said their businesses will still be accessible throughout the project.

Connell said that lane closures will be scheduled at night and, apart from some slight congestion around construction, drivers should not see significant delays while the widening is underway.