The roads less traveled

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The fact that U.S. 280 has a traffic problem isn’t news to anyone. What’s noteworthy is that six cities, two counties and the Birmingham Water Works Board are working together to study a possible solution.

The city of Birmingham, along with several municipal partners, has taken the first steps toward providing an alternative route near 280. It’s one of two projects that could provide eventual relief for this major highway’s commuters.

The million-dollar question

About six miles east of 280 lies Grants Mill Road, a narrow two-lane that winds from Highway 119 to I-20 and Highway 78 in Irondale. In this rural roadway, the city of Birmingham sees a new conduit for some of 280’s traffic.

“We understand that there needs to be some relief because of the congestion,” Birmingham City Council President Johnathan Austin said.

At an Aug. 11 Birmingham budget and finance committee meeting, the committee members voted in favor of a joint traffic study of 280 and Grants Mill Road. The study would cost up to $1.04 million with Birmingham paying $560,000 and Vestavia Hills, Irondale, Hoover, Leeds, Mountain Brook, Jefferson County, Shelby County and the BWWB each contributing $60,000.

The study would seek alternate corridors to relocate Grants Mill Road between Highway 119 and I-459 to accommodate more traffic flow. Austin said the road would also be widened and allow vehicles traveling up to 55 miles per hour.

Birmingham District 2 council member and Transportation and Communications Committee (TCC) Chair Kimberly Rafferty said this is the first multijurisdictional project of its kind in Jefferson County and she has been working for several years to achieve this “cooperative effort.”

“[Grants Mill Road] can serve as an additional route/detour through the area from 119 and 459,” Rafferty said. “It will benefit growth and development in the area for Alabama [and the] jurisdictions involved, as well as when the route is being constructed, and the BWWB can enjoin their Carson Loop expansion project along the new right of way.”

Anitra Hendrix, the executive assistant to the BWWB general manager, said this study was originally brought up to the different participants months ago, resulting in their tentative consideration. As of now, no final agreements have been made, and Birmingham has not sent out memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to any municipalities to finalize plans. This must take place before the study can begin.

It might not be a long wait for the project to start. Austin said the study will be brought before the Birmingham council sometime in the next few weeks. If approved, he said the next step will be engaging the other municipalities in a formal agreement. 

The project will not involve ALDOT or the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham. The study will take several months to complete, so there is no timeline yet for when alternative designs will be presented to the public or when any changes to the roads will occur. 

“It’s just so premature,” said Shelby County engineer Randy Cole, who will participate on the county’s behalf if the study is approved. “We’re just in its infancy and not close to having something for people to look at.”

Bridge over troubled waters

Some longtime 280 travelers may remember when they could drive Cahaba Beach Road from 280 to Sicard Hollow Road. The bridge that connected the roadway across the Little Cahaba River has been closed to vehicles since 1992.

ALDOT and Shelby County are considering a plan to demolish the old bridge and build a new one, reconnecting the two-lane Cahaba Beach Road and potentially diverting some cars from 280 onto this route.

As with the Grants Mill Road project, this idea is still in its early stages. Shelby County engineer Scott Holladay said ALDOT is currently a few months into a study to find the “most practical and best alignment” for the road and a new bridge. The study will last at least a year, Holladay said.

The federal grant for the project is over $4 million, but Holladay said the project cost will be determined by the amount of work needed to reach the proper road alignment. He estimated that the diverted traffic from 280 will be below 10 percent.

Cahaba Beach Road resident Trae Watson is organizing opposition to the potential reconnection. He said he didn’t receive notice of the possible project but instead left his driveway one morning to find engineers talking in the road. Since then, he’s been “talking to as many people as possible” and set up a website, savethelittlecahaba.org.

“[I had] the realization of what effect this will have on that river and the community and the woods and just the sheer number of animals I see crossing that road every day,” Watson said. “I guess it’s just a little more visceral for me.”

His concern stems partly from the increased traffic that will come from the reconnection, and the potential of future commercial or residential development of the current “giant, green swath of land” around the road and river. Watson worries the reconnected road would also add runoff and pollution to the Little Cahaba, damaging the river’s cleanliness and underwater life.

“It’s just going to bring human development into a place that has largely been untouched,” Watson said. “Once you put a road in, how many years before they expand it to be a four-lane?”

As someone who grew up near the Little Cahaba, Watson also knows it has been a place for locals to quietly enjoy nature for more than 20 years. Since starting his campaign against the project, Watson said he has heard from many current and former residents with an emotional connection to the river.

“It’s a place that people come regularly to get solace and commune with nature. And I think it’s precious,” he said.

Since federal funds would be used if the Cahaba Beach Road bridge is rebuilt, ALDOT East Central Region Engineer DeJarvis Leonard said environmental studies are required to understand the impact on the river before the project can proceed.

“We understand the sensitivity of the project,” Leonard said. “We will take all necessary steps to ensure that the sensitive environmental area is protected.”

Holladay said construction on the road and bridge is likely years away. There is no determined timeline now, but Leonard said ALDOT hopes to have options available for a public involvement meeting and resident comments within a few months. He emphasized that nothing about the project is final yet.

“No decisions have been made and we made that very clear,” Leonard said. “We have a clean sheet of paper that we will visit all possible alternatives.”

By the numbers

  • 4-7 lanes currently on 280
  • 15 traffic signals over the 3.9 miles between 459 and 119
  • 51% of land within a quarter mile of 280 is undeveloped
  • An average of 73,625 cars pass through intersections between Interstate 459 and Highway 119 daily.

All data courtesy of Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham and ALDOT via transit and intersection studies.

Grants Mill Road

  • This 2-lane road connects Highway 119 and I-20. 
  • Several municipalities want to widen and relocate the road  to handle more cars.

Cahaba Beach Road Bridge

  • The bridge connecting Cahaba Beach Road has been closed since 1992.
  • Shelby County is considering building a new bridge to divert traffic from U.S. 280.
  • There are environmental concerns related to construction at the Little Cahaba River.