Officials push safety as U.S. 280 changes take shape
“Right-turn only.”
Over the last 10 months, these words have rung like sirens in the ears of Mountain Brook residents who drive on U.S. 280.
Now, they’re a reality.
Officials said by Aug. 5 work on the Alabama Department of Transportation’s (ALDOT’s) Intersection Improvement Plan from Mountain Brook Plaza to Green Valley Road could be complete. These changes mean relearning a road many have driven for years. Moreover, it means adjusting routines in the safest way possible.
“I know Mountain Brook police will be watching the road carefully,” Mountain Brook City Council President Virginia Smith said. “I want everybody to be very cautious, and I want the main commuters on 280 who are driving by these intersections – presumably at faster speeds now – to be very aware that a lot more traffic will be moving in.”
Smith said the Council, which openly opposed ALDOT’s proposed changes to intersections at Mountain Brook Plaza and Cherokee Road, still has concerns for its residents in the wake of the changes. Drivers approaching U.S. 280 from the south side of Cherokee Road who wish to travel directly across or make left turns are a particular worry. These drivers are now required to merge into highway traffic and make U-turns at the Overton Road intersection.
Officials said work is progressing ahead of schedule but referred to Overton Road as one of the more complicated pieces of the project.
“At that intersection, there are a lot of conflicting utilities, and Birmingham Water Works wants oversight,” said Craig Fleming, president of Dunn Construction. “A lot of work you see in that area is us, and a lot of work is being done by Birmingham Water Works to resolve utility conflicts. But we should complete work there close to deadline.”
ALDOT Director John Cooper informed the Council that he would consider additional changes to intersections in Mountain Brook if the plan “proved unworkable,” Smith said.
“I don’t know what ALDOT’s definition of ‘workable’ is,” she added. “Obviously though, proving them unworkable may mean accidents at those intersections.”
ALDOT Division 3 Engineer Brian Davis said motorists should prepare for changes at these and the 20 other intersections under construction along U.S. 280.
“Some maneuvers will be very different on completion than the ones drivers have gotten used to making in the last seven years,” he said. “Drive slowly and cautiously, and make plans to ride through on the weekend to get used to the changes.”
According to Davis, ALDOT began distributing educational material and airing television commercials the week of July 22 to get motorists acclimated to the changes.