Year In Preview: A look at roundabouts planned near Mountain Brook Village

It won’t happen overnight, but plans are currently underway to bring roundabout improvements to the intersections of Cahaba Road, U.S. Highway 280, Culver Road and Lane Parke Road.

In November 2015, the Mountain Brook City Council signed off on the various agreements needed for the roundabout’s construction, all of which involve the city property of Mountain Brook, Birmingham and the Alabama Department of Transportation because of its oversight of Highway 280. 

The construction of the two roundabouts, said City Manager Sam Gaston—a large roundabout at Cahaba Road, 280 and Lane Parke Road and a mini roundabout on Cahaba Road—will take about three to four years to complete.

“We have to go through a selection process for the firm to design the roundabouts,” said Gaston, “then it will be reviewed and approved by ALDOT. ALDOT will bid the project and then construction will begin.”

The intersection, according to the resolutions passed by the council, is considered “an important connector” for visitors of the Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Mountain Brook Village. The changes, according to the agenda, would “facilitate the flow of traffic in that area.”

Per the agreement, the estimated cost puts the total project at just under $3.5 million for the right of way acquisition, preliminary engineering, utilities and construction costs. The cost will be split among Federal CMAQ Funding, as well as the cities of Birmingham and Mountain Brook. The majority of the project will be financed federally, for a total of approximately $2.79 million. Mountain Brook and Birmingham will split the remaining cost equally, paying about $349,100 each. 

Plans to fund the project began in February 2015, when Mountain Brook requested the federal funds. The request followed an April 2013 study by Sain and Associates that found adding both a large roundabout and mini roundabout would “create the highest traffic efficiency and pedestrian and bike safety at the intersections in the village.”