Associated Press
Birmingham’s traffic could get a lot worse beginning next month.
The Alabama Department of Transportation says it will shut down Interstate 20/59 through the state’s largest city beginning in mid- to late January 2019.
Al.com reports the move comes as crews rebuild the aging highway overpasses through downtown.
Transportation officials will lay out detours for vehicles traveling through town. But they are asking drivers to avoid the downtown area if at all possible, particularly by using Interstate 459.
The road will close for an estimated 14 months during the construction work. The bridges are, according to ALDOT, 30 years past their estimated lifespan. And, they’re carrying more than double the number of vehicles they were designed for back in the ‘60s.
In 2021 Birmingham hosts the World Games. By the time those 4,500 athletes roll into town, the city hopes to have completed yet another park – a 10-block, mile-long linear park tentatively called CityWalk BHAM (to add to an already impressive collection of green spaces.
By fall of 2020, safer, bigger interchanges between I-20/59 and 280 on the eastern side of town (near TopGolf), and between I-20/59 and I-65 on the western side of town are expected.
There will be auxiliary lanes which will make it easier while trying to enter the highway from the left-hand side as fast-moving traffic races toward drivers. Instead, there will be a lane where drivers can get up to speed before merging into oncoming traffic.
Bypassing Birmingham for the short term when 20/59 closes
ALDOT’s official recommendation is to stay away from downtown as much as possible during the time of the 20/59 closure and spend a lot more time on I-459, bypassing the city where possible.
Some places are going to become a lot harder to get to, in the short term but are still accessible such as Uptown, the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, TopGolf, and the Birmingham Museum of Art.
Some detours around town will be unavoidable. For example, if you’re at the airport and need to get to Bessemer (or vice versa) or you want to attend next year’s Magic City Classic you may need to take the local detours.
If you’re heading from I-20/59 west, you’ll need to get off at Carraway Boulevard, then take Finley Boulevard to I-65, or to Arkadelphia Road where you can get on 20/59.
In the meantime, many may have to rely on their favorite Navigation Apps, some of which rely on users to report road closures. So, once the highway closes, do your friends, neighbors and fellow travelers a favor and report.
Bhamnow.com contributed to this report. For more on the modern, mobile guide to Birmingham, visit www.bhamnow.com.
