Slow Traffic Day
Are you involved in the discussion?
Work on the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) proposal to alleviate congestion on highway U.S. 280 has been temporarily suspended. That plan includes a four-lane elevated toll road from I-459 to Eagle Point Parkway, with future options to expand to six lanes. The ALDOT has presented it’s plan to the areas that would be affected.
Rethink280, a local citizens’ organization started by the group Citizens to Save 280, has presented an alternative plan that the group believes would be more cost effective and preserve commercial areas and communities. Rethink280 has been presenting their plan in areas that would be affected by an overhaul of 280.
We would like to hear your thoughts and ideas on the future of this busy, vital thoroughfare. There are three ways to have your voice heard: leave a comment and vote in our online poll; post a comment on our 280 Living Facebook page; or e-mail us at feedback@280living.com. Selected responses received before April 15 will be published in the May issue of 280 Living.
For more information, Rethink280 has posted its plan at www.rethink280.org, and Figg Engineering has posted artist renderings of the elevated roadway at FIGG Engineering. Other key players in this discussion include the Alabama Department of Transportation and Business for a Viable 280.
280 Living 
We have studied this to death,while 100s,of thousands suffer everyday.Right now ,lane expansion, bridge expansion ,light changes,overpasses,and a freeze on growth until the problem is corrected. Believe the state wants to continuing studing so as not to spend the money,the state is at minium extremely negilgent.
The most ridiculous thing about the elevated plan (other than it potentially killing off the businesses in Inverness) is that it wouldn’t solve the problem. Having commuted 280 for many years, the real traffic problem is where Rocky Ridge Road enters 280 and stops the flow, and THAT won’t be answered with the elevated road because Mountain Brook is smart enough to want nothing to do with it. The elevated road is an eyesore and will only be a fast way to meet the exact same bottleneck in Mnt. Brook 280 that already exists. Truly, it’s a horrible idea. Unless you live in Chelsea it won’t help anyone at all.
The “Rethink 280” plan while not perfect is preferable. The elevated road will just be an eyesore that kills the Inverness/Greystone area businesses and property values.
I’m very surprised to see so much support in the poll for ALDOT’s plan, as almost all of the people I know in this area are opposed to it, as are most of the involved communities. My major concern is the extremely negative aesthetics of elevated express lanes, as well as ALDOT’s assertion that the enormous cost of construction and perpetual maintenance of the road would be covered by tolls. If ReThink290’s plan has been as well thought out as it appears to be, the cost of their plan is far less than ALDOT’s, yet preserves express lanes (albeit depressed rather than elevated). If no other funds are available and ALDOT is wedded to tolls, then the lower cost of the ReThink280 means that tolls would be more likely to cover the cost of construction and maintenance. I doubt that would happen under the current plan.
the plans to build an elevated highway over 280 are absurd . first of all, we all know that for three months out of the year while school is in recess, the traffic is fine . that being said , the only plan they can promote for the remaining nine months is to build a overhead highway !!!!!! ( did anybody try speaking to all of the colleges and larger downtown businesses about staggering their start times ???? — a simple and free plan –but nobody makes any money)
i come from a very congested area of the country where these roadways have been built and they are a complete mess. the local businesses beneath them meet their demise , the pollution is terrible and the tolls are always increased as the cost will rises . the congestion while they are built is a disaster and driving beneath them is a nightmare .
the phony drawings being presented are actually comical .
to understand the pressure to build this eye saw you have to follow the money . the engineering and construction company pushing this mess on the citizens of birmingham is a company from spain. several local companies stand to make large sums money insuring the project and paving the road. in new york we had three times the congestion and these roads are not even considered anymore . the business communities, state and local governments banded together in a serious way and started “flex time” . whenever possible , businesses and schools had their student and employee hours staggered to reduce traffic flow at key points in the morning and afternoon. the effect was dramatic !!! next , they invested in a high tech computer traffic control system which adjusted all of the traffic lights properly depending on traffic conditions.
it is amazing that the “figg group” and the spanish construction interests they represent , could have brought the conversation this far . —
kudos to them —-
but a big disaster for all of us on 280
s walters
north shelby county
After reading many comments, it is obvious that people who live in the area that would be directly impacted by the elevated road are against ALDOT’s plan and those who live further out on 280 are in favor of it. These people should have examined rush hour traffic before deciding on where to live.
I live in Brook Highland andthe last thing I want to see is a elavated bridge at the entrance to my neighborhood. The elevated roads in Teaxas are nice but the divide mostly commercial areas; any residential ares are behind “walled” compounds.
I like the ideas of flex hours, more frontage roads, and attracting more companies to locate away from the downtown area.
If an elevated road must be build, it could run from 459 near Grants Mill Rd., east of 280 and tie in after Double Oak mountain. Thanks.