Photo by Kamp Fender.
Construction wraps up Interstate 459 North at Exit 19 to U.S. 280. Alabama Department of Transportation spokesperson Linda Crockett said weather events in January and February delayed work on the project.
The Alabama Department of Transportation is still reviewing its options for the controversial Cahaba Beach Road project following its last public meeting in August.
ALDOT East Central Region engineer DeJarvis Leonard said there’s no update as of press time.
The project would build a bridge and connecting road over the Little Cahaba River, connecting U.S. 280 to Sicard Hollow Road in Liberty Park. Options 5 and 5-B, both previously submitted to the public, are still on the table, as is the option to not build the road and bridge.
The road and bridge reconnecting the two roads would be two-lane controlled access roads, prohibiting development, Leonard said. The project is needed, he said, to increase connectivity, not to alleviate traffic concerns on U.S. 280, as many have assumed. The estimated cost is between $12 to $15 million, Leonard previously said.
“We’re constantly looking at traffic patterns,” Leonard said.
The Birmingham Water Works Board owns the land near the road and bridge, and the river is the source for much of the greater Birmingham area’s drinking water. Attempts to reach the board for comment were unsuccessful.
Cahaba Riverkeeper’s David Butler said it’s “really sad” that the board, which is affected more than any other entity by ALDOT’s decision, hasn’t come out and opposed the project.
Leonard said he’s confident the organization will be “environmentally friendly,” though several organizations have expressed concern about the project’s environmental impact, in addition to traffic concerns in Liberty Park.
“The reason [the land] hasn’t been developed is the Birmingham Water Works Board had the foresight to buy a lot of this property and protect our source of drinking water,” Butler previously said. “... It frustrates the purpose of all this protection.”
“It just seems so short sighted,” said Rob Rogers with Deep South Outfitters. “We’re funding a diminished quality of water. They just need to leave the drinking water alone.”
Beth Stewart, executive director of the Cahaba River Society, said its interest is now having the Birmingham Water Works Board show how it’s going to protect its land. The society presented a resolution to the board in 2018, Stewart said, but it was never placed on the agenda.
This is the first project the society has opposed in 15 years, Stewart said, because the runoff from construction and the number of cars on the road each day could affect the quality of drinking water, as well as area wildlife.
Stewart said the project is “just not worth it.”
The city of Birmingham passed a resolution in November opposing the project outright, and the city of Vestavia Hills passed a resolution in December opposing the proposed options. Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry said if any new options were presented, they would be reviewed.
Butler said he believes the resolutions will be effective as the project continues to move forward.
INTERCHANGE OPENS
Construction to change the exit at U.S. 280 from Interstate 459 near The Summit took a bit longer than expected, but the ramp is now open.
Linda Crockett, spokesperson for ALDOT, said work did not meet the previously-set completion date of mid-February, but, as of press time, the ramp was open and crews were finishing up their punch list. Weather in January and February delayed the project, Crockett said.
Currently, the ramp from where I-459 north and south merge onto U.S. 280 forces drivers to weave between each other, but construction is expected to begin by April 1 on a new ramp that will make this unnecessary, according to officials at ALDOT and the city of Birmingham.
“When a vehicle exits I-459 northbound to go to U.S. 280, they will be able to either take a ramp going specifically to the signal where they can turn left toward The Summit or stay on the existing ramp and only be able to go east toward Grandview Hospital,” Crockett previously said.
The project will cost almost $4.6 million including inspection and testing, according to a city spokesperson.
The federal government will pay almost $3.9 million of that cost, and the city of Birmingham will contribute a 10 percent match of the total project cost, about $457,000.
About $228,000 will come from ALDOT as a 10 percent match for a portion of the federal dollars.
