280 Living
280Living.com
November 2012November | Volume 62012 | Issue 3
neighborly news & entertainment
Fixing 280
one light at a time ALDOT schedules meeting to discuss new 280 project
Angel
pillowcases
This summer Harry Arnold, a Brook Highland resident and high school senior, and his partner, Grace Carroll, pictured above, started a nonprofit venture that crafts pillowcases for patients at Children’s of Alabama. This month their story and those of other members of our community.
Community page A9
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Birmingham, AL Permit #656
By JEFF THOMPSON
Alabama Department of Transportation engineers Lance Taylor and Brian Davis review new plans to address traffic on Highway 280. ALDOT will present the new project at a meeting on Nov. 19. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
An Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) proposal to begin addressing the abhorrent congestion on Highway 280 is ready for scrutiny. On Monday, Nov. 19, ALDOT is giving the public the opportunity to review and comment on a new multi-million dollar plan to reduce average drive times down Highway 280. The plan focuses on proposed changes to 26 intersections between Hollywood Boulevard, located less than a mile past the Red Mountain Expressway interchange, and Hugh Daniel Drive, one intersection east of State Highway 119. “Our goal is to shorten a driver’s trip by three to five minutes,” ALDOT Director John Cooper said while speaking to the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce last month. “I believe this will cost $12-15 million, and we’ll be able to take it to bid by April and have it done by November 2013.” According to ALDOT Division Engineer Brian Davis, the plan involves a long list of improvements, and the department has a different plan for each intersection. Among other things, the project includes eliminating some access points to the main highway, reconfiguring side streets and widening intersections. Mostly, though, it’s about the lights. Davis explained that the average cycle for a traffic signal on Highway 280 is 170 seconds, and the highway is only allocated an average of 65 seconds per cycle. The proposed plan could raise that to an average of 110 seconds.
Athlete of the month
Chelsea’s Julius McCall recently committed to play football for UAB in 2013. FInd his story and more about area students in Section B. Photo courtesy of Cari Dean.
Sports page B6
INSIDE Sponsors .................. A4 280 News ................ A6 Community .............. A7 Business ..................A18 Food ........................ A16
Calendar ................ A20 School House .......... B2 Sports ....................... B6 Essay Winners ........ B8 Opinion .................... B12
See 280 PROPOSAL | page A11 facebook.com/280Living