I-59/I-20 Rebuild (Birmingham: how much, house, neighborhood)

[AU HSV]

Its gonna be nice when finished and be a boom for downtown Birmingham but boy what a mess when its shutdown this month for 14 months. Won't be any easy way to get through Birmingham. The truck traffic is going to be tremendous and not in a good way. Maybe highway 31 as alternate?

[bfmx1]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

Its gonna be nice when finished and be a boom for downtown Birmingham but boy what a mess when its shutdown this month for 14 months. Won't be any easy way to get through Birmingham. The truck traffic is going to be tremendous and not in a good way. Maybe highway 31 as alternate?

Why do you think it will cause a boom downtown? What will be so much better for downtown? Won't it be easier to drive on through and not stop? Also, that's 14 months of people and businesses going elsewhere.

If they wanted a boom downtown, they should have moved it north.

[mcalumni01]

Originally Posted by AU HSV

Its gonna be nice when finished and be a boom for downtown Birmingham but boy what a mess when its shutdown this month for 14 months. Won't be any easy way to get through Birmingham. The truck traffic is going to be tremendous and not in a good way. Maybe highway 31 as alternate?

The real issue will be pass thru traffic and those locally who don't drive around birmingham that's unfamiliar with the area and don't know the local side streets to navigate around traffic. People around here are use to one route to get to work and no other way. There lies the problem..

[steveklein]

How would US-31 be an alternate?

If we are talking about traffic passing through the city, the main alternate route for East/West traffic is going to be 459... which is what should be used anyway.

Highways 11/78 would be viable alternative routes for those approaching from the north/south and wanting to change directions in Birmingham.

[_OT]

Originally Posted by mcalumni01

The real issue will be pass thru traffic and those locally who don't drive around birmingham that's unfamiliar with the area and don't know the local side streets to navigate around traffic. People around here are use to one route to get to work and no other way. There lies the problem..

Maps -> GPS

[Justin Scott]

Download the WAZE App.

[bfmx1]

Another proposal... The 14 months of being shut down will be the best thing to happen to Uptown and 459. It will suck for a month while no one knows where to go.. But after a while traffic learns. Many many more people will take secondary and tertiary roads.. More traffic can drive business.

Studies have shown this happened in many cities where they tore down their inner-city interstates. It drove progress where there used to be little traffic. People carve out short cuts naturally. It's painful at first.

This is one reason I strongly think it should have gone north of town. A massive bridge system and interstate system going right through the heart of uptown is a big limiting factor IMO.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by bfmx1

Another proposal... The 14 months of being shut down will be the best thing to happen to Uptown and 459. It will suck for a month while no one knows where to go.. But after a while traffic learns. Many many more people will take secondary and tertiary roads.. More traffic can drive business.

Studies have shown this happened in many cities where they tore down their inner-city interstates. It drove progress where there used to be little traffic. People carve out short cuts naturally. It's painful at first.

This is one reason I strongly think it should have gone north of town. A massive bridge system and interstate system going right through the heart of uptown is a big limiting factor IMO.

It SHOULD have gone north, but that was impossible for a couple of factors:

1 - It would have cut right through a poor neighborhood. Ironically, the same people pushing for this project to be stopped and relocated, are largely the type of people who would have complained about the relocation going through the poor neighborhood. There was no winning that battle.

2 - Timing. The bridges were falling apart, and while the current solution will take a while, it pales in comparison to the length of a relocation.

People don't seem to understand the last part. They think once facilities are in place, they will last forever. Considering there was not going to be any winning any battle when it comes to the City and all the agitators, ALDOT took the common sense approach - rebuild the bridges in their current position - which was the low-hanging fruit and the cheapest solution.

Life goes on.

[JesseRohr]

The only real inconvenience to me will be my weekly to/from the airport. I mapped out a couple alternatives from my house in Glen Iris, I lose 6-10 mins each way.

Given the added benefit of the new roads when they are complete, I am willing to sacrifice my time.

I have never lived anywhere with such a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" approach to everything.

[cjseliga]

Not sure how much it would have added to the cost, probably a lot, but they should have done a "cut and cover" tunnel. If they were planning on shutting down that stretch for 14 months, they could have just demoed the existing crumbling, end of their lifespan, bridges and dug down and did a tunnel.

That type of tunnel would probably have been cheaper than boring and they could of had the tunnel segments pre-made, off-site and just dropped into place and connected like they do for some tunnels that go under waterways. Then they could have redeveloped the new land where the old freeway was and have a seamless connection, with no freeway cutting through the northern part of downtown.